7/23/2010

Music Makes The World Go 'Round

I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that listening to your favorite song when you're feeling a bit depressed makes you feel a million times better. Or at least a little better. Maybe it's just me? Actually, it's proven that music is quite beneficial. It's good for your health, and it's good for your brain, among other things.

Did you know music can lower stress and anxiety by about 50 percent? It also acts as a pain reliever by causing natural chemicals to be released in your brain, and can also help you relax by causing brain waves to synchronize. The speed of the music also affects your heart rate: fast music will speed up your heart rate and slow music will slow down your heart rate. And if you can't sleep you can listen to some slow music to help-- it will help you sleep better, too. Music can also possibly increase intelligence levels, at least temporarily. (Read this if you want to know more.)

With all these benefits, it should be no surprise that music is being used as therapy. In fact, listening to music can reduce chronic pain and depression by about 25 percent. Sounds like an interesting type of therapy to me. (Read more about it here.)

So, listening to music is pretty great, but what about actually playing it? There are even more benefits of playing music than just listening to it. First of all, playing an instrument relieves stress just as listening to music does, but it's probably more effective. This is certainly the case for me-- if I'm having a bad day, sometimes I'll just play one my instruments and I'll feel much better. Even if I just play scales. Moreover, playing music is a creative outlet. (Who says you can't make up your own song?)  Guess what else? Playing an instrument can help students do better in school, and even affect IQ scores. That "band geek" might be smarter than you think. Of course, playing an instrument will also teach discipline and provide the musician with a sense of accomplishment. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention how enjoyable it is, especially once you get better at playing it. (Not convinced? Read about Stanford's study, or this.) Really, if you don't play any instruments, you should definitely consider it. And if you already play an instrument, it's always fun to learn another.

I just thought I'd share some information about music with you guys, since basically everyone loves music (and I mean offense if you're deaf...). Of course, one of the best things about music is that it's universal (except for the lyrics).So, no matter what kind of music you like, go listen to it-- it's good for your health.

What do you think? Does listening to music help you when you're having a bad day? And is there a certain kind of music that helps most? Do you play any instruments, or are you going to learn any?

4 comments:

  1. of course, music is so therapeutic! I listen to feel-good songs (like5 years' time by noah + the whale) when I'm feeling down, and play the flute.

    xx
    AZD
    www.xAZDdesign.com

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  2. I've never heard of that band, but I think I'll listen to some of their music since you mentioned them. I play the flute too! It definitely helps me whenever I'm not feeling too great.

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  3. It's amazing that science only verifies what music lovers have known for thousands of years! :) Thanks for posting this.

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  4. Yeah, just more reasons to listen to music. I'm glad you liked the post!

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