Listen, if you’re looking for an easy way to boost your mood, cue the music. Studies have shown that music can lift your mood and even fend off depression. It also improves blood flow, lowers your levels of stress-related hormones like cortisol, and relieves pain. And get this – listening to music before an operation can improve post-surgery outcomes. Neat, huh?
Here are some more ways that prove why listening to music is good for your health.
How Does Music Do Such Good?
Music has a way of “selectively activating” neurochemical systems and brain structures that are associated with positive mood, emotion regulation, attention, and memory in positive ways, according to Kim Innes, a professor of epidemiology at West Virginia University’s School of Public Health.
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Innes did a 2016 study that found music-listening can boost mood and well-being and improve stress-related measures in older adults that are suffering from cognitive decline. Her study showed how the benefits of music are similar to those of meditation.