Whether you like to jam out to Led Zeppelin in your car or recline at home to the soothing strings of Mozart, there are few people who don’t like music.
The beauty of music is there’s a genre for everyone to enjoy, no matter their age, gender, or ethnicity. And it’s healthy to boot!
Let’s start off with the more surprising benefits.
It’s a pill-free painkiller
If you’re heading in for surgery, make sure you’ve got your Spotify playlist waiting for you after! Music can reduce your pain. No one is entirely sure why. It has stumped scientists and doctors alike, but it’s speculated that the boost in dopamine levels from your favourite tunes could factor in.
Improve our immune function
Now this one is just a maybe, but there’s promising evidence about the effect of music on our immune systems. Research from Wilkes University in the US monitored the levels of IgA (an antibody that plays a key role in our immune system) in students before and after listening to ‘soothing’ music. These students had a greater increase in IgA levels than others who had listened to a radio broadcast, a tone click, and those who remained in silence.
Making us stress less
The way music helps us chill out is two-fold. Firstly, it triggers biochemical stress reducers. Secondly, slow relaxing beats can alter our brainwave speed. This results in brainwaves similar to what we experience during meditation. Namaste!
Enhancing our brain power
Keep the radio on at work. The ambient noise that music provides can actually make us more productive. However it’s important to switch it up a bit between periods of no music and with music on for maximum efficiency! If you’re learning new things, music without lyrics is best.
So there you have it, your musical addiction is actually for the best. Of course, as health writers, we’d advise you to keep the volume at a reasonable level 😉
What effect does listening to music have on you? We’d love to hear from you!