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Oct 7, 2020 · A recent survey on music and brain health conducted by AARP revealed some interesting findings about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: Music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall.
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Music also lights up nearly all of the brain — including the hippocampus and amygdala, which activate emotional responses to music through memory; the limbic system, which governs pleasure, motivation, and reward; and the body’s motor system.
- Stress management. Music provides calmness and relaxation. Music listening is strongly associated with stress reduction by the decrease of physiological arousal as indicated by reduced cortisol levels, lowered heart rate, and decreases in mean arterial pressure (de Witte et al., 2020).
- Emotional effects of music. Music can evoke a wide range of feeling states, such as exuberance, compassion, or tenderness (Cowen et al., 2020). For example, the “Star-Spangled Banner” stirs pride, Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” makes some people feel energized, and “The Last Song” by Elton John triggers sadness.
- Musical pleasure. Music has the ability to evoke powerful emotional responses (chills and thrills) in listeners. Positive emotions dominate in musical experiences.
- Social bonding. Music is thought to be the social glue that enhances cooperation and strengthens feelings of unity. Music triggers the hormones oxytocin and serotonin, responsible for bonding, trust, and intimacy (Levitin, 2010).
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · pmc · articlesCognitive Crescendo: How Music Shapes the Brain’s Structure ...
Sep 29, 2023 · Prosody, encompassing pitch, rhythm, and volume, is pivotal for embedding emotion and context in speech. Notably, these facets are fundamental to music, underlining a profound link between the musical and the expressive elements of language. However, the waters are murkier when exploring pitch.
- 10.3390/brainsci13101390
- 2023/10
- Brain Sci. 2023 Oct; 13(10): 1390.
greatergood.berkeley.edu · article · itemFive Ways Music Can Make You a Better Person - Greater Good
- Listening to uplifting music may make you happier—and possibly more generous. We’ve all felt strong emotions listening to music. Sad songs may bring us to tears, while joyful music can make us feel euphoric.
- Songs with “prosocial” lyrics may make you more helpful and empathic. Happy lyrics from upbeat songs may not have as much of an impact on people’s behavior as “prosocial” lyrics advocating kindness and helpfulness—think Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World.”
- Listening to prosocial songs may change how you spend your money. In one experiment, almost 800 French restaurant customers ate lunch or dinner while listening to music with prosocial lyrics or music with neutral lyrics—or music not selected for its lyrical content.
- Song lyrics may change your attitude towards people different from you. Indeed, listening to these songs may make us less aggressive, more accepting of differences, and even—yes, for real—more likely to respect women.
Mar 29, 2013 · Playing and listening to music benefits a person both mentally and physically. For example, it decreases anxiety, levels of cortisol, and increases immunoglobulin A.
Dec 4, 2023 · Introduction. Every day, hundreds of millions of people make or listen to music. This appetite is driven by music’s core effects on emotion [1, 2, 3], reward [4], and affiliation [5]. The...
