Listening to music is enjoyable and entertaining, but did you know that music could make you healthier?
Music can energize your body, relax your mind, help with pain management, and it can even boost your mental performance and slow cognitive decline. Music can influence your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Here are just a few ways that music impacts your health.
Music can help you pick up the pace when walking and running. Listening to music while you exercise changes your perception of exertion and you are less likely to notice that you are working harder. Listening to fast-paced music can also help boost your motivation and enjoyment of physical activity.
Music can boost mental performance. Instrumental tracks, played quietly in the background, are best, and research has shown that playing more upbeat music led to improvements in processing speed and benefits in memory in older adults.
Music can be an effective way to cope with stress, to soothe the mind, and help you relax. If you have symptoms of depression, music therapy can be a safe and effective way to help manage those symptoms.
Listening to music can be very helpful in the management of chronic pain. A study with fibromyalgia patients found that those who listened to music just one hour a day experienced a significant reduction in pain in comparison to a control group.
Finally, music can help you fall asleep and get better quality sleep. Playing relaxing classical music can be a safe, effective, and affordable remedy for insomnia.
Source: Walk Kansas 2022
By: Ashley Svaty
