Music has been a way to create relationships and find common ground with people. Quite frankly, if you like Paramore we will probably be best friends…just saying. As technology is advancing music is becoming more and more accessible. We no longer need to use a tape or a CD to play our music. Music is found on our phones and portable music players. I do not know very many people that do not have some sort of music on hand. Believe it or not music has actually been proven to have many health benefits.
5 Health Benefits of Music
1. Increases workout motivation and endurance:
One of the top things that we do during workouts (among texting and talking on the phone) is listening to music. We love to pop our headphones in and hit the gym. Somehow a workout is a billion times better if you have the right pump-up music during a workout. When I have the right song on I feel like I can push for that last half mile. Sometimes it is even that I don’t want to stop in the middle of a song, but regardless it keeps me going as long as it is an upbeat song. Head strong by Trapt may or may not be a weakness of mine. No shame.
2. Improve quality of sleep:
I think that this is a health benefit that most of the United States of America could use. Music has been proven in college students that listening to classical music improves the sleep that we get at night. There were many nights in college that I fell asleep with headphones in my ears while my roommate rustled around our room. I would say that is a lot cheaper than taking sleeping pills.
3. Help us to eat less:
It has been proven that we often move to the pace of music when we are listening to it so, if we are listening to fast paced music while cleaning, we move a little quicker. If we listen to slower music while eating, it has been proven that we eat slower and eat less because we are more aware. So get your significant other and “lock the door and turn the lights down low…put some music on that’s soft and slow…”. Sorry. Josh Turner stole my southern heart.
4. Reduce stress:
Music also has health benefits when it comes to stress. Listening to music has been proven to reduce stress levels by triggering biochemical stress relievers. So if you’re at work and you would rather not be, stick your head phones in and feel the stress flow away. It has actually been proven to reduce stress levels the same amount as a massage in some cases. I see this as an excuse to listen to music WHILE getting a massage, it’s like killing 2 birds with 1 stone…or maybe it’s more like 1 bird with 2 stones. Regardless. It sounds like a marvelous idea.
5. Reduce Memory Loss:
People that suffer from memory loss have been proven to remember things easier when they associate things with a song. I have even used music to remember something as simple as the 7 continents when I was in the 4th grade, I would like to say that I still know this song and have proven many fellow college students wrong. I should note that no particular genre of music has been noted, this is all based off of personal experiences and preference.