Here's How Music Leaves A Positive Impact On Your Mental Health

Music is a powerful thing. Apart from its entertainment value, listening to music has incredibly positive effects on the brain. More specifically, music can change how we act, feel and think. Researchers have found that music increases memory and retention as well as maximises learning capabilities.

Our brains trigger particular emotions, memories and thoughts, which often leads to more positive effects on mental health.

According to a new study published in the Journal of the Medical Association Network Open, researchers said that listening and creating music is highly advocated, including in the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) report, as a means of improving health-related quality of life, as well as various domains of well-being in clinical and healthy populations.

The analysis revealed that music had a similar positive reinforcement among people as they experienced from weight loss in studies of adults with obesity.

According to a health website Verywell Mind, some of the potential benefits music is said to have on our brains are as follows:

Improves Cognitive Performance

The research found that background music, or music that is played while a person is primarily focused on another task, can improve performance on cognitive tasks in elderly people. One study suggested that playing more upbeat music led to improved processing speed, while both positive and downbeat music led to benefits in memory.

So if you are working on a task, consider turning on a bit of music in the background if you want a boost in your mental health. Consider choosing instrumental tracks rather than those with complex lyrics, which might be more distracting.

Helps Eat Less

One of the most amazing psychological benefits of music is that it might be a helpful weight-loss tool. If someone is trying to lose weight, listening to mellow music and dimming the lights might help achieve their goals.

As per one study, people who ate at low-lit restaurants where soft music was played consumed 18 per cent less food than those who ate in other restaurants.

The researchers found that music and lighting help create a more relaxed setting. Since the participants were more comfortable and relaxed, they may have consumed their food slowly and have been more aware of when they started to feel full.

Reduces Stress

It has been suggested long before that music can help reduce or manage stress. So, people might consider the trend centered on meditative music to soothe their minds and induce relaxation. Fortunately, this is one trend which is supported by research. Listening to music can be an effective tool to cope with stress.

According to one study in 2013, people participated in one of three conditions before being exposed to a stressor and later taking a psychosocial stress test.

Some of the participants listened to relaxing music, others listened to the sound of rippling water, and the rest received no auditory stimulation.

The results found that listening to music impacted the human stress response, especially the autonomic nervous system. Those who had listened to music recovered more rapidly following a stressor.

Improves Motivation

There is a good reason why people find it easier to exercise while listening to music. Researchers found that listening to fast-paced music motivates individuals to work out harder.

One experiment designed to investigate this effect tasked 12 healthy male students with cycling on a stationary bike at self-paced speeds. On three different trials, the students biked for 25 minutes at a time while listening to a playlist of six other popular songs of different tempos.

Unknown to the listeners, the researchers made subtle differences to the music and then measured performance. The music was left at an average speed, increased by 10 per cent, or decreased by 10 per cent.

Speeding up the tracks resulted in high performance in terms of distance covered, the speed of pedalling, and power exerted. Conversely, slowing down the tempo of music led to decreases in all of these variables.

Reduces Symptoms Of Depression

Researchers have also suggested that music therapy can be an effective and safe treatment for various disorders, including depression. One study found that music therapy was a safe, low-risk way to lessen anxiety and depression in patients suffering from neurological conditions like stroke, dementia and Parkinson's disease.

While music can undoubtedly impact mood, the type of music is also essential. Classical and meditation music offers the tremendous mood-boosting benefits, while heavy metal and techno music are ineffective and even detrimental.

Improves Memory

Many students enjoy listening to music while studying, but is that such a great idea? Some feel like listening to their favourite music as they study improves memory, while others observed that it serves as a pleasant distraction.

Research suggests that it may help. But it depends upon various factors, including the type of music, the listener's enjoyment, and even how musically well-trained the listener may be. As per one study, musically naive students learned better when listening to upbeat music, possibly because these songs elicited more positive emotions without interfering with memory formation.

However, musically trained students performed better on learning tests when they listened to neutral music, possibly because this type was less distracting and easier to ignore. If you find yourself distracted by music, you may be better off learning in silence or with neutral tracks playing in the background.

Another study found that participants learning a new language witnessed improvement in their abilities and knowledge when they practised singing new words and phrases versus just regular speaking or rhythmic speaking.

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