How does hearing your favourite song make you feel? Elated right?. I mean, doesn't it lift your spirit and make you feel excited? Well it does me. Music we all know, is an organized sound made by using rhythm, harmony or Melody. It is also that sound you choose that speaks to you, your current situation or state of mind and helps make you feel better. The human brain has different pathways for processing parts of music including Melody, pitch, tempo and rhythm. While fast music increases your heart rate, breathing and blood pressure, slow music does the opposite.
Studies have shown that when you listen to a song you like, the brain releases a chemical called "dopamine" which has positive effects on mood. Some researchers have also found that music probably has the power to improve our state of health and well-being. Studies about the benefits of music are still ongoing but these are some confirmed benefits:
Music helps in the expression of emotion: listening to music is one of the best ways of reflecting your thoughts and emotion. Some kinds of music help you to express your current feeling and let everything out, be it happiness, anger or sadness.
Music helps us to be creative: music helps in getting your creative juices flowing because it is creativity in it's purest form. It helps to improve your mind by making it more artistic and ingenious. It helps you think out of the box in writing poems, stories and even drawing.
It makes learning fast and easy: have you noticed that things taught by converting it to music are faster to learn and remember than things that are just taught plainly. For example, the first 20 elements I was taught in secondary school was used to compose a song and I still can remember that song now so music helps in learning.
It reduces stress: researchers have found that listen to music with low pitch, slow tempo and no lyrics help to reduce stress and anxiety in people undergoing medical procedures like surgeries.
It helps to improve mood: listening to vibrant music with a fast tempo helps to improve my mood and uplift my spirit. I get really happy and excited listening to my favorite song and 'vibing' to it too.
Music provides comfort.
It helps to ease pain
It helps improve cognition: it helps Alzheimer patients recall lost memories and helps them maintain some mental abilities.
It helps children with autism spectrum disorder to improve in communication skills, attention skills and social responses.
It helps to soothe premature babies: lullabies can help to soothe crying babies, improve feeding behaviours and sucking patterns in premature babies.
Music sure goes a long way in helping to improve and ease a lot of things so it's safe to say that it makes life easier and better.