Music has the ability to transform our lives if we learn how to tap into its potential. It not only has brought people together since prehistoric cultures, but now we are learning more about the benefits it can have on an individual. These benefits range from improving your emotional and physical health to increasing your productivity.
Music is a tool that can enhance most problem areas of your life. If used wisely, it can act as a natural mood and performance enhancer. It’s basically the cheapest drug on the market.
Here are a few ways music can improve your well-being.
5. Music Can Help You Increase Your Endurance
Like Popeye and spinach, music can be the spinach that helps you work out harder and longer. In 1911, Leonard Ayres, found that cyclists exerted themselves more when listening to music as opposed to pedaling in silence. The reason this might be is because music distracts your brain from the pain that comes from fatigue. It acts like an organic pain reliever. So the next time that you hear that one annoying top 40 song on the radio, just think that it possesses medicinal qualities, sort of.
4. Music Can Increase Your Workout Efficiency
In a 2012 study, researchers concluded that cyclists who listen to music used 7% less oxygen during the same workout than those who were not listening to music. This is because music acts as a metronome. We are more likely to synchronize our movements to the beat of a song. When listening to music, our pace is steadier and our breathing is more consistent leading to energy efficiency. It’s important to note that music above 145 bpm provides no extra motivation or benefits. So, if you like to listen to Slayer while you work out, you have great music taste.
3. Classical Music Can Help You Focus
You might want to reconsider your musical preferences after hearing this one. A Northumbria University study concluded that subjects were more likely to complete their tasks quicker and more accurately if listening to classical music than if not. Classical music can improve your visual attention and keep you focused on the task at hand.
There hasn’t been enough studies to support this theory but classical music does help lower your blood pressure, relieve pain after surgery, help you battle insomnia, and even make you more honest. The soothing effect certain classical music has is perfect for the blues.
