How Music Affects our Brain Health

Music plays an important part in our lives. Besides getting our feet tapping, music can affect ourselves in more ways than we may have originally thought. Read on to find out just how important music is for our bodies and brain health.

• Creativity
• Recall
• Stress

1. Creativity. Music is an art form, and our bodies and brains react to art in a creative way. A recent study split participants into two groups. Both groups were to perform certain creative exercises. One group did these exercises in silence, while the other did these exercises while listening to music. The group that was listening to music while performing these exercises performed better – they came up with more creative ideas than the group who did the exercises in silence. So, how can this relate to us? If you ever feel as though you are in a “creative rut” listen to some music while brainstorming.

2. Recall. We may all know the struggle of remembering every single lyric in a song that we haven’t heard in years, yet we can’t remember when our friend’s birthday is. Music is powerful and makes certain events easier to remember. In a study that was done at the University of California, it was found that there is a part of the brain that connects music with our memories. The next time you need to remember an important fact, try to pair the information to a familiar musical tune. Repeat it to yourself a few times. We have a feeling, it will be a little bit easier to remember when you pair it with a catchy tune.

3. Stress. Music can bring out some heavy emotion in us. We get it, life can become overwhelming, and we can get stressed. The next time you feel completely overwhelmed, we challenge you to first throw on some headphones and listen to music. What kind of music? The choice is yours! We recommend first starting out with quiet, classical music to begin and change genres as you need. Once you find your genre, you’ll be amazed by how powerful music is. Listen to a calming tune, and you’ll find just how much music can promote relaxation. Your brain will thank you!

Music goes beyond just a catchy tune. Now that you know the body and brain health benefits to music, turn on some music the next time you do your everyday activities, and you’ll be sure to see a difference!