We all love listening to music and you probably don’t need a reason for it, it’s just something that we do because it makes us feel good and we enjoy it. But you might not have realized that it’s actually good for your health as well. That doesn’t mean that you’re going to get sick if you don’t listen to music that much, but there is a lot of evidence to show that listening to music on a daily basis has a lot of positive effects on your body.
These are just some of the amazing health benefits that you’ll get from listening to music every day, backed by science.
It Makes You Happier
This is something that you already know, listening to your favorite music always puts you in a better mood and makes you feel a lot happier in general. But this can actually be proven by science as well. Studies have been done where people are injected with a substance that binds to dopamine receptors in the brain so the output can be measured. Dopamine is a ‘feel good’ neurotransmitter so when something makes you happy, your brain will release more of it. As expected, the studies showed that when people listen to music that they like, their brain releases higher levels of dopamine and their mood improves.
This can be incredibly beneficial to your health if you’re suffering from low feelings and even depression. It’s important to note that you can’t cure mental health issues by just listening to your favorite album, but it could help when you’re feeling down. There is also some evidence to suggest that classical music and meditation music has a positive impact on people that are suffering from depression.
It Reduces Stress
Stress is another big factor in mental health issues. When people are under a lot of extreme stress, that can quickly develop into more serious mental health problems like anxiety and depression, which is why it’s so important that you find ways to reduce your stress levels and relax. Stress levels are on the rise in the workplace and most of us are leading busier lives than ever, which is one potential reason that mental health is such a big issue for so many people. There are a lot of different things that you can do to relieve stress but using music is one of the easiest ways to relax.
Studies show that listening to any music that you enjoy reduces your levels of cortisol, otherwise known as the stress hormone. A lot of people also find that listening to particularly relaxing music is the ideal way to unwind after a long day. People often combine this relaxing music with things like meditation which really helps them to take 5 minutes out of their day to de-stress. Next time things are getting on top of you, just sit back and listen to some music for half an hour and you’ll feel much calmer.
It Improves Sleep
Sleep is absolutely essential to good health, which is why it’s such a problem that most of us aren’t getting enough. So many people suffer from lack of sleep and it has far reaching effects on your health. You increase your risk of so many different diseases, it can make you gain weight, and it also impairs your cognitive function so if you’re not sleeping enough, it will impact every single aspect of your life. Unfortunately, a lot of people really struggle to get to sleep and can’t find a way around it.
If you’re having a hard time getting your 8 hours every night, you should try listening to music before bed. Studies show that listening to classical music for around 45 minutes before you go to sleep has a huge positive impact and makes it far easier for you to drift off compared with people that were reading books or playing on their phones.
It Makes You Exercise Better
A lot of people listen to music while they exercise because it helps them to stay motivated. If you hate exercise but you know that you need to do it because it’s good for you, you should definitely listen to music. It helps to distract you so you aren’t constantly thinking about how tired you are and how much pain you’re in. There has also been research into running with and without music and the findings show that people that are listening to music tend to perform a lot better than those who run without. It doesn’t necessarily have to be extremely fast music but it does need to be motivating as the study also found that people listening to particularly calm music didn’t perform that well.
It Strengthens Your Memory
When people are studying for a test, some like to work with some background music while others prefer the silence. However, research suggests that those who listen to music while they study are likely to do better because music can actually improve your memory. In studies where participants were asked to memorize things while listening to music, they performed better than those that were doing it without the music. It’s also interesting to note that people that were musicians benefited more from the music than non-musicians.
It Helps You Eat Less
Eating well and losing weight is a very important part of being healthy for most people, but it’s difficult to stick to. What a lot of people don’t realize though is that it isn’t always the food that they’re eating, just how much of it they’re eating. People tend to get portion sizes wrong quite often and that can lead to weight gain. Being more vigilant about how much you’re eating is obviously important, but listening to the right music while you eat can make a big difference as well. Studies show that listening to soft music causes people to eat less and enjoy their food more.
These are all scientifically backed reasons why listening to music every day is good for your health.
