Go to the gym if you are looking to tone your body. Listen to music if you want to train your brain.
Music is the best way to stimulate your brain. Music is an excellent tool to keep your brain active throughout aging. It can give your brain a complete workout.
Research has shown that music can help reduce anxiety, blood pressure, pain, and mood and improve memory, sleep quality, mood, mental alertness, and sleep quality.
The Brain-Music Connection
Experts are trying to understand how the brain can hear and play music. Stereo systems emit vibrations that travel through the air and eventually reach the ear canal. These vibrations touch the eardrum and are converted into an electrical signal that travels from the auditory nerve to our brain stem.
Johns Hopkins researchers observed dozens of musicians and rappers perform jazz while lying in an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) machine. This allowed them to see the areas of their brains light up.
Music can be described as mathematical, structural, and architectural. The theme is based on the relationships between each note. Although you may not realize it, your brain must do much more computing to make sense.
Music can give you a boost to your brain every day
Music’s power is not limited to research. These are ways to bring more music (and brain benefits) into your life.
Jump-start your creativity
Experts suggest that you listen to your grandkids and kids. Experts suggest that many of us listen to the same music and genres that we did in our 20s and 30s and avoid listening to anything new.
The brain is challenged by new music in a different way than old music. Although it might not be pleasurable initially, the unfamiliarity forces the brain to struggle to understand the new music.
Remember a long-forgotten memory
You can reach for familiar music, especially if the song is from the same period as your memory. For example, listening to The Beatles could bring back the first time you saw your spouse.
Pay attention to your body
Pay attention to your reactions to music and find the one that suits you best. One person’s music might be distracting, while another might find it helpful. Another person might feel more relaxed listening to music that helps them focus.
Definitions
Magnetic resonance imaging: Large machine that uses powerful magnets to view your body. MRI testing is not radiation-free, unlike an X-ray. This test involves you lying on a narrow, rectangular table inside a tunnel-shaped scanner. Healthcare professionals will monitor you from another room. Ask your doctor about open MRIs closer to your body if you feel anxious in enclosed spaces.