I think we can all agree on the fact that music is one of the most precious things we can experience as humans.
It holds such deep significance and meaning for us all.
It’s no wonder that some have called it the language of the spirit.
What’s amazing about music is that it can make us experience a whole spectrum of emotions.
- When you listen to sad music, you feel sad.
- When you listen to something groovy, you feel energetic.
- When you listen to instrumental music, you feel peaceful and serene.
But that’s not all.
Music is such a powerful force that it even influences the various dimensions of our health and life.
I am sure you already know that there are countless benefits of music for our physical, mental, and emotional health.
It can even affect our relationships and career. Below, we discuss some of these benefits.
Benefits of Music For Physical Health
1) Music Helps Your Cardiovascular System
One of the most relevant benefits of music in today’s world is that it helps improve your cardiovascular system.
This includes your heart and the blood vessels in your body.
It’s quite well known that listening to music can alter your breath rate and heart rate.
Therefore, if you listen to relaxing music, you can achieve a healthy resting heart rate.
Also, music that has a positive impact on your emotions can increase the blood flow in your blood vessels.
This ensures that all your organs get the necessary nutrients and enough oxygen to function properly.
Music can also make you want to dance. This, too, is beneficial for your cardiovascular system.
2) Music Can Replenish Your Energy
If you have ever turned on your music player and blasted your favorite music on it, you already know how energetic it makes you feel.
Suddenly, your fatigue disappears, and you experience an upsurge of immense energy.
This effect is so well known that it is actually used as part of music therapy to treat patients.
This benefit can come in handy when you have a lot of tasks to do and you just can’t find the energy to do them.
It can also prevent you from experiencing fatigue in the first place (if you tend to work with music in the background).
3) Music Enhances Your Physical Performance
If you regularly workout while listening to your favorite music, you probably already know how it influences your performance.
Somehow, music can keep you going longer than you thought possible for yourself.
This effect is visible not only during workouts but any other physical activity as well.
Scientists say that this effect likely happens because music cuts down on our awareness of exertion.
They also say that listening to music makes the muscles work more efficiently.
As such, our muscles are able to do more with the same level of energy.
Therefore, if you’re running a marathon, cleaning your home, or doing other chores, you should probably make music your companion.
4) Music Can Help Alleviate Pain
Pain is a part of life, whether we like it or not.
We experience physical pain when we are sick, have a health disorder, or get injured.
And as we all know, pain can range from mildly disturbing to soul-crushing.
Most of the time, people use painkillers to alleviate pain when it becomes intolerable.
However, as scientists have shown, we can all take the help of music.
In many studies, it has been found that music can reduce the perceived intensity of pain.
This probably happens due to the flooding of feel-good hormones in the body when we listen to music.
As such, it can help people manage chronic pain and acute pain. This alone can improve the quality of life for many.
5) Music Can Speed Up Post-Workout Recovery
A lot of people don’t realize that after a workout session, our bodies go into recovery mode.
This happens as the body starts rebuilding its glycogen stores ( storage form of glucose, sugar for the body) as well as repairing and regrowing muscle proteins.
This is an important step in maintaining your physical health, strength, and fitness.
Music can speed up this post-workout recovery process.
Although any kind of music will do the job, if you listen to slow music, the recovery will happen more smoothly. This is because your muscles will be able to relax more deeply.
6) Music Can Improve Your Immunity
Your immune system is your body’s natural defense against bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that can cause you harm.
As such, it’s critical to keep your immune system in top shape.
Thankfully, listening to music is one of the easiest ways you can do so.
When you listen to your favorite music or play an instrument, the body produces the antibody immunoglobulin A and natural killer cells. These are the cells that attack harmful germs and help you remain healthy.
Music also reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This prevents any degrading effects of cortisol on the immune system.
Benefits of Music For Mental Health
1) Music Can Reduce Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety have become parts of our lives in the modern world.
Whether it is your job, relationships, or other responsibilities, everything around can contribute to your stress if you’re not careful.
The thing is, stress and anxiety are mental states that can cause a whole host of disorders and diseases in the body.
For example, stress is often linked to the onset of diabetes.
Now, thankfully, listening to music can relieve a lot of the stress and anxiety we feel.
Anyone who has popped in a pair of headphones and listened to some upbeat music knows this for a fact.
So, to deal with these issues, why not make music a daily habit ?
2) Music Can Help Alleviate Depression
Depression is another troubling problem that is taking over the world. ( check our article about depression vs laziness here )
Millions of people in the world go through depressive symptoms due to a plethora of reasons.
This makes life a bit difficult, and in some cases, people even commit suicide. It seems unbelievable at first, but music can help even in this regard.
Listening to classical music or meditative tracks can greatly reduce the symptoms of depression. If you can meditate while listening to these types of music, the effects will be even more pronounced.
A word of caution though; heavy metal and techno can actually make depression worse haha. So, maybe avoid them if you feel depressed!
3) Music Can Boost Sleep Quality
Various studies have estimated that over half of the world population is sleep deprived.
Since sleep is connected to some of the most vital functions of the body and mind, this figure is absolutely alarming.
Lack of sleep can lead to all sorts of trouble and can greatly reduce your quality of life.
This is why it comes as a relief that music can boost your sleep quality.
Studies have shown that listening to classical music can help treat insomnia. So, if you’re having trouble falling asleep, you should start listening to calming and soothing music while laying on the bed.
4) Music Can Enhance Your Motivation
Motivation happens in cycles.
Sometimes, you feel so motivated that you do a week’s worth of chores in a single day.
And sometimes, you feel so demotivated that even a simple task seems insurmountable.
If you are to achieve your goals and dreams, it’s important to find out ways that allow you to keep your motivation up. Listening to music could be one such way.
When you listen to fast-paced music, it makes you want to get up and do some work.
Have you ever experienced this?
Somehow, it ignites an inner spark that helps you break your inertia.
This is probably why cleaning becomes such a pleasurable experience when you do it while listening to music!
5) Music Can Enhance Your Meditation Practice
Many people find it difficult to meditate.
Especially when they are beginners.
The most common complaint is that they can’t focus their mind on one thing.
This is where music comes into play. Even experienced meditators take the help of meditation music to enhance their practice.
Studies have shown that listening to binaural beats, solfeggio frequencies, and other types of music specially designed for meditation can greatly aid your practice.
They can induce a meditative state by creating rhythmic stimuli in your brain. You can even reach hypnotic states with the use of these tracks.
Here is an example that you can easily find on youtube:
6) Music Can Improve Cognitive Performance
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was an easy way of improving your cognitive performance?
Wouldn’t it be absolutely amazing if we could enjoy this benefit without having to do too much?
Well, it seems like music is the answer to our prayers.
Scientists have said for a long time that music can enhance a lot of our mental capabilities.
This includes learning, remembering, reasoning, problem-solving, and more.
It has been found that music that plays in the background while you’re working on something can help you do more in the same amount of time.
However, different people are affected differently by different types of music.
So, you need to find what works best for you.
7) Music Can Boost Your Mood
Finally, we come to the most obvious mental benefit of music.
When you listen to music that you like, your mood is automatically boosted.
Even if you are feeling under the weather, it somehow makes you feel better. In fact, you can counter any negative emotions with the opposite type of music.
- For example, if you’re feeling sad, force yourself to listen to happy music. This will instantly make you feel happier.
- If you feel a lack of energy, listen to some party music. This will instantly make you feel more energetic.
- If you feel like there’s a lot of chaos going on inside your mind, listen to some relaxing tunes. You will immediately feel more peaceful!
Benefits of Music For Relationships
1) Music Can Help Express Yourself
Relationships are all about expressing yourself.
The more you communicate, and the deeper your conversations are, the stronger your bond will be with people.
This could be with your family, friends, or even colleagues.
As they say, communication is key.
Now, you might be wondering how music can help in this regard.
Well, you might be surprised to know that music can actually improve your visual and verbal skills.
This allows you to study body language and gestures better and express yourself more clearly. This is especially evident in children.
So, if you wish to establish strong relationships with those around you, make sure you listen to music every day!
2) Music Can Help Enhance Your Bond
If you take a look at ancient history, you will realize that music has always been a part of different cultures and communities.
In fact, music is one of the core aspects of any festival around the world. This is not by chance.
Researchers suggest that musical activities like singing and dancing in a group can enhance the happiness of the entire group. It is this that helps the community stick together.
This is probably why road trips are such great bonding exercises.
Often, people sing along with their favorite artists and everyone has a great time.
There is something about the shared experience of music that transcends our petty differences.
3) Music Can Help You Think From The Heart
When it comes to the matter of the heart, it is only obvious that you should think from the heart and not the mind.
When you’re listening to music, especially love songs, you can’t help but let your emotions guide you.
This can be extremely useful in romantic relationships.
After all, it’s all about keeping two souls together in love forever!
A great way to bring this into practice is to spend time with your partner while your favorite love songs play in the background. You can even dance to the tunes together for an even better experience. ( or even more haha)
