We all know how we feel when we hear a song we love come on the radio or if we have a boogie to one of our all-time favourite tunes. The question is whether listening to music is good for you on a deeper level. A 2020 AARP survey on music and brain health uncovered some interesting insights into music’s influence on your cognitive and emotional wellness. So listen up and you may be surprised at what you hear.
This is a collaborative post.
Listening to Music
It turns out that people who regularly listen to music generally have better mental well-being and slightly lower levels of anxiety and depression than the general population.
So even if you aren’t actively listening to music, you will be working out your brain. Now that’s good news. Search for black friday deals headphones and stick a few beats on whilst you work out, get that background music on whilst you work and definitely dance as you do the housework (hit up the term speaker bluetooth black Friday). It’ll make you feel good and keep your brain strong and healthy and if you shop smart this black Friday, you’ll be able to get some new gear without the hefty price tag.
So let’s look closer at the science. Among survey participants who attended live music performances, 69% rated their brain health as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 58% for former attendees and 52% for those who had never attended.
Of those who often experienced music during childhood, 68% described their learning ability as “excellent” or “very good,” in contrast to 50% of those without early exposure to music.
Active engagement with music, including among those over age 50, correlated with increased happiness and better cognitive function overall. It’s interesting that adults who did not have early exposure to music but now participate in musical activities also showed higher mental well-being scores than average.
If we look closer at cognitive neuroscience, this also offers some theories about the benefits of listening to music.
Music activates almost all areas of the brain. Research has shown that music engages a whole array of neural networks. Naturally, it stimulates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes, but that’s only the beginning. Brain regions tied to emotion synchronise in response to emotional music, while memory areas also become active. Interestingly, music even engages the motor system. In fact, it’s believed that the brain’s motor regions help us identify the beat in music, even before we start tapping along. So are you still wondering how exactly music contributes to your well-being? That’s simply down to music activating your brain regions and networks, working several pathways. It’s interesting to note that the only other activity that engages so many brain networks simultaneously is social interaction.
So if you want to keep your brain young, you need to spend time with other people and also enjoy listening to music. Sounds like good, easy advice to me!