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How Music Effects the Brain

Essay by   •  September 9, 2012  •  Essay  •  581 Words (3 Pages)  •  1,697 Views

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How Music Effects the Brain

Think of the last time a song really moved you, or meant something to you. Listening to and playing music makes you more alert and changes your emotions. What makes us so drawn to music?

Making music is one of our most basic instincts. There's a reason we refer to music as the "universal language."Music can often make your day or break it. It can change your mood, pump you up for exercise, and help you recover from injury. But how does it work exactly?

One of the ways you use music is to recall memories. When you listen to music you know, it stimulates the hippocampus, which handles long-term storage in the brain. Doing this can trigger a memory from the past that we can remember when we are reminded by a song or a sound. If you're having trouble remembering something, you might have better luck if you play the same music you were listening to when you first made the thought. You might remember reports that said that studying while listening to Mozart increases the likelihood of performing well on a test, but that has been disproven in some studies, and in turn, studies have shown some music has a negative affect on fact retention if you're studying numbers or lists. Still, performing music has been proven to increase memory and language skills, but for listeners, it's better used as a means to recall memories.

Boot your Immune system with music. Sounds a little crazy that just by listening to music can help you become less ill and keep you from being under the weather. If you're feeling stressed out or if you're starting to feel ill, Listen to a upbeat song to increase the antibodies in your system to keep you feeling well. This will lead to stress reduction and help you feel better.

As you go and lift weights you can get an extra boost to help you lift more and making your heart and muscles to work at a faster pace. The best music to listen to is between 120-140 beats per minute. Music works to increase strength by distracting attention, No one is sure on how it works but it eases the exercise and still increases the immune system as well.

The effect of using music to increase productivity, it seems the best option might be to use music without words so it doesn't have affect the language parts of your brain. The theory is similar to the exercise, faster music might keep you and your brain working hard. if you have a boring job, music is a great way to increase your mood while performing at work. For the same reasoning it helps with exercising, it can also help with fighting fatigue, especially if you change up the music often. Studies have also shown that almost all music increases your mood, because it causes a release of dopamine, so if you're feeling tired, bored, or depressed, a good up beat song might be the cure you need.

Music is a motivator and a great means to keep

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