Music is a major part of our lives. The average person listens to it on a daily basis. From car rides home, to intense workouts in the gym, or even the tunes that play in the movies and TV shows we watch—we encounter music regularly. Most people enjoy listening to music and often state that they can’t live without it. But why is that?
Aside from the general pleasures music brings, it also provides several health benefits that many are unaware of.
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1. Helps with exercising
Have you ever wondered why there is always music playing in the gym or why people can’t go on runs without their headphone? Simply put, music serves as the motivation to work out harder. It is also shown that listening to those top workout tracks can increase endurance during a tough exercise session. USA Today explains this works partly through the power of distraction: When we're focusing on a favorite album, we may not notice that we just ran an extra mile.
2. Improves sleep quality
Listening to music has been shown to treat insomnia, especially in college students. Low and soft music works just as well as sleep-inducing medication. Research has found that listening to music at various times promotes better sleep patterns for people and even creates more restful sleep.
3. Decreases stress and anxiety
Are you ever worried or anxious about something and don’t know what to do? Listening to music with a low and slow tempo, or just instrumental, can calm people down, even during highly stressful or painful events.
4. May help with memory
When studying or doing homework, do you ever find yourself bobbing your head to some music? An article in the Huffington Post explains that music enjoyment elicits dopamine release, a chemical in the brain that gives you a feeling of rush, and dopamine release has been tied to motivation, which in turn is implicated in learning and memory.
5. Relieves symptoms of depression and elevates mood
If you are ever feeling down and depressed, music may be the perfect cure. Studies show that music helps put people in a better mood and gets them in touch with their feelings. Study participants rated "arousal and mood regulation" and "self-awareness" as the two most important benefits of listening to music.
Whether you realized it or not, listening to your favorite songs while walking to class, coming from work, or right before bed provides your mind and body with much more than the enjoyment of the songs; it also has several health benefits to go along with it. So keep on listening! Music is a vital part of human life.
