Listening to music is considered entertainment, but is it possible that music might make you healthier? Music can be a source of contentment and pleasure, but research indicates that it can have some surprising psychological benefits as well. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that music has the power to influence your feelings, behaviors and thoughts. Music doesn’t just impact moods, but can also inspire action amongst the listeners. Haven’t you ever been moved to tears by a touching live performance? There may have been a time when you felt pumped up while listening to your favorite song. This is the effect of music.
However, the psychological benefits of music can be a lot more wide-ranging and powerful that you may know. What are they? Some of them are outlined below:
Music improves your cognitive performance
According to research, background music or music that’s played while the listener is focusing on another primary activity, can actually improve cognitive performance. Upbeat music is known to improve your processing speed whereas downbeat music can enhance your memory.
Music can bring down your stress
This has been repeated for quite a while that music can be immensely useful in reducing and managing stress. When you listen to music, it can have an impact on the human autonomic nervous system, which keeps your stress levels low and allow you to recover from a stressor quickly.
Music can also help you in eating less
One of the most surprising psychological effects of music is that might be a useful tool for weight loss. If you wish to lose weight, it might help you to listen to mellow music and dim the lights. This is due to the fact that the lighting and music can help in creating a relaxed setting. This prompts people to consume food more slowly and they become aware of when they are full. If you eat fast, you tend to overeat because it takes you a while to realize you are full.
Music helps in sleeping better
Insomnia is a serious issue and its effects are not restricted to a particular age group. While numerous approaches have been used for treating insomnia, research shows that listening to classical and relaxing music can be an affordable, effective and safe remedy. Music is also helpful in improving sleep quality.
Music is great for improving motivation
There is a good reason why exercising is easier when you are listening to fast-paced music; it motivates people to exercise harder. But, this can only occur when you speed up the music because listening to slow songs will have the opposite effect.
Music boosts your mood
Another benefit of music that’s been discovered is that it can boost your mood and make you happier. It makes people self-aware and puts them in a better mood because it is able to combat some of the symptoms of anxiety and depression amongst people suffering from various health conditions.
These are some very surprising benefits of listening to music that most people don’t know about.