There aren’t many people who can say that music doesn’t positively affect their lives. It’s almost everywhere in our lives we go: Churches, homes, parties, restaurants, schools, stores, work, and even birds singing at 6 a.m. around this time of year. The reason why it’s seemingly everywhere is obvious: Us living beings enjoy it. With me, no matter what stressful situations I had during music classes or lessons in elementary or high school for whatever reason, listening to and playing it then would at least make me have a “keep going” attitude.
As many people may or may not know, music arouses emotions and feelings more than language does. So how exactly does it work? We at Eligible had the chance to explore some impacts.
Music relieves stress
On many levels, regardless of tempo, it has positive effects on stress levels. When it’s fast, it makes us more alert and more able to concentrate, which is good if you are going through an insomnia episode. Are you worried about anything in life or seem to have a pessimistic life outlook you don’t have much control over? An upbeat tempo can make you more optimistic and positive. Perhaps you are stressed about an important school or business assignment? A slow pace can do the trick as it relaxes your muscles and mutes your mind.
What if you are really, really, can’t take it anymore stressed. What would work best? Drums, flutes, and stringed-instruments, when played at a normal volume, can relax the mind. And of course, there is the easy listening genre, which is obviously called easy listening for a reason. It’s easy to listen to and relaxes your mind.
When music at 60 beats per minute has the brain release alpha brainwaves, we feel relaxed and alert. Also, researchers at Stanford University have confirmed that listening to it can change brain functioning in the same way medication can.
Music limits pain
It’s common knowledge that indoor and outdoor temperatures in given areas can limit pain, but did you know that music actually can as well? It does. One of Bob Marley’s famous quotes is “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
When it comes to pain tolerance, music can be useful in limiting acute and chronic pain as well as managing anxiety and depression. A study from 2012 indicated that two daily sessions of listening to music eased symptoms in conditions such as anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia, inflammatory disease, and neurological conditions.
Music can relieve pain because it releases opioids, which are natural body pain relievers. According to a 2013 study, people who took Naltrexone, an opioid-blocking drug, experienced less positive arousal while listening to their favourite song compared to otherwise.
Music impacts memory
Yes, this does include hearing a song you remember from 2001. You suddenly remember stuff that happened that year which you probably don’t think much about otherwise. A documentary named Alive Inside explores how it increases brain activity in people with memory loss conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease.
Similarly, with dementia patients, both listening and singing increased attention, cognition executive function, mood, orientation, and remote episodic memory. Singing, in particular, can improve both short-term and working memories, as well as the well-being of patient providers.
When you listen to music, activity in the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory as well as the lowest parts of the frontal lobe, tends to be active, creating memories.
