The Astounding, Sweeping Health Benefits of Listening to Music

Listen to music can boost your cognitive capabilities, fight depression, reduce stress, and even lose weight

Introduction: The Obvious Stress and Sleep Benefits

I have always been obsessed with music. I am listening to Black by Pearl Jam right now. Before that, I was listening to an unconventional, obscure rock song named Vent by AnimalJam. Two Jams. I listen to music virtually all the time.

A couple of days ago, I became curious: does listening to music have any actual benefits? Not only is the answer yes, the answer is a resounding yes. Music can work miracles for your brain, mind, and body.

There exists something known as music therapy, where practitioners use music, or elements of music, to help patients achieve their goals, such as stress reduction or improvements to general quality of life. Patients are tasked with creating, listening to, or dancing to music over several sessions. Music is more than a pleasant distraction. It can improve one’s holistic well-being in several ways.

Stress Relief

When stressed, our adrenal glands release cortisol, also known as the stress hormone. A 2021 study revealed listening to music of any genre, in both clinical and natural settings, led to significantly reduced levels of cortisol. When we listen to music playing at around 60 beats per minute, our brain synchronizes with the beat and emits alpha brainwaves, or frequencies between 8 and 14 hertz, which are present when we are relaxed.

Sleep

Sound waves entering through the ear are converted into electrical signals. When these signals are interpreted by the brain, our body experiences changes, such as the secretion of dopamine, which promotes feelings of pleasure, motivation, and satisfaction. These changes aid sleep, with participants who listened to 45 minutes of soft music at bedtime reporting significantly improved sleep quality from the first night.

Furthermore, researchers noticed the time taken to fall asleep by another set of participants who listened to music at bedtime for ten consecutive nights fell from 27–69 minutes to 6–13 minutes. These benefits are intuitive. Children are sung lullabies to sleep and adults listen to music to unwind. The following pluses are more recondite and go some way toward explaining why researchers at Stanford University once said:

…listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication.

The Cognitive Benefits

There are four cognitive benefits of music:

1. Focus and Productivity: In one 2016 study by Mindlab International, 26 participants were given daily tasks for five days and assigned either one of four genres or no music at all. Over 80% of the participants submitted their best and fastest work while listening to music. EDM proved to be the most productive genre. Listening to music while studying helps some, like myself, and hinders others. Researchers have found both sides are correct; whether the music is stimulating or distracting depends upon each student. Experimentation is advised.
2. Processing Speed: A 2007 study found classical music helped participants absorb and interpret information more easily. In 2014, researchers determined that upbeat, high-tempo music boosted the speed at which listeners processed information.
3. Memory: The same study also found both upbeat and downbeat music boosted memory. Another found singing, rather than speaking, new words better facilitated language learning.
4. Delayed Cognitive Decline: Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) is when people self-report worsening memory and brain function as they age. It is one of the earliest indicators of Alzheimer’s. In 2021, researchers discovered meditation and music-listening helped improve memory and symptoms of SCD among 60 participants. While music cannot reverse memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s and dementia, it can help slow cognitive decline later in life.

Thus, listening to background music helps perform quicker and better, preserve memory, and slow cognitive decline in old age. Some students also study better while listening to music. These benefits are why the Johns Hopkins Institute recommends listening to more music. Their researchers have discovered music actually stimulates the brain, with areas visibly lighting up in MRI scans.

The Mental Health Benefits

Music boosts not only the brain but also the mind:

1. Reduced Depression: Music therapy has been found to be effective for a slew of disorders, including depression. In 2015, researchers found music therapy was helpful in reducing depression levels among patients suffering from neurological disorders like dementia and Parkinson’s. Music therapy is most successful when complementing more traditional forms of treatment and can provide several short-term benefits, such as a boosted mood and increased secretion of dopamine. However, the type of music is important and depends upon the person. Most people benefit from classical music. I myself have fallen asleep to Scissors by Slipknot. Each has their own genre.
2. Reduced Anxiety: Researchers have found people listening to calming music before undergoing surgery experience decreased blood pressure and lowered cortisol levels and require less pain medication. But one need not be on an operating table to enjoy these benefits. In 2020, researchers discovered operating room staff reported lower stress levels and less burnout after having 30-minute music sessions at work over six weeks. A review of studies across ten years proved listening to music lowered anxiety levels in children before and during medical procedures.
3. Confidence and Motivation: A 2017 review reinforced the efficacy of music therapy against depression and further revealed listening to music increased participants’ confidence and motivation, especially when listening in groups. Fast-paced music motivates listeners to work harder, with researchers in 2010 tasking participants to cycle for 25 minutes at a time while listening to music. Unbeknownst to them, the researchers made subtle changes to the playback speed. The music played at a normal speed, with a 10% decrease or 10% increased speed. Those listening to the latter cycled faster and harder, with speeds and levels of exertion falling congruously with the tempo.
4. Mood: One need not suffer from a mood disorder like clinical depression to experience the benefits of listening to music. Those without mental illness also report feeling happier while listening to music, especially uplifting, uptempo tracks.
5. The Effectiveness of Music Therapy: The efficacy of music therapy among patients suffering from psychological disorders such as clinical depression and schizophrenia was tested in 2021 when researchers reviewed 349 studies and discovered that 68.5% of music interventions had yielded positive results.

The results are staggering. Music, either as part of music therapy or independently, can, when used in concert with traditional therapy and medication, boost one’s mood, alleviate symptoms of mental illness, lower stress and burnout, improve confidence and motivation, and more.

The Physical Benefits

Unlikely as this might sound, listening to music has three physical health pluses as well:

1. Endurance and Performance: In 2012, researchers discovered fast-paced music with a strong, rhythmic beat motivated runners to move quicker and longer. The effect was most prevalent for workouts of low to medium intensity. Experts hypothesize music diverts one’s attention, so the exercise seems less strenuous. Our focus is on the beat, not the pain in our muscles.
2. Pain Management: Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by pain and tenderness throughout the body, along with fatigue and sleeping difficulties. In 2010, it was discovered that listening to one hour of music daily significantly reduced pain. This is likely because, again, their attention was diverted. Music distracts.
3. Reduced Weight: This is one I could not believe. Researchers in 2012 determined people consumed 18% less food in restaurants with low lighting and soft music. The authors hypothesized the lighting and music combined to create a relaxed setting, which meant the participants ate slower, with more deliberation and mindfulness, and were thus more aware when they were full.

Amazing. Music affects holistic development.

Closing Thoughts: Obsessed With Music

Some say listening to music is an activity. I ask what they are doing, and they reply they are listening to music. And inside, I think: And? I am always listening to music.

Right now, I am listening to Anhedonia by AnimalJam. Music always plays in the background in my world. Whether I am walking, writing, or reading, those blue moons when I exercise, I always have music playing.

I fall asleep to music and wake up to music.

I was not aware of the full extent of my obsession with music until I realized most people do not spend hours watching Arch Enemy, Linkin Park, Spiritbox, Bring Me the Horizon, and Slipknot concerts from beginning to end. As you can tell, my preferred palette contains a healthy dose of metal. If you know any similar artists, please let me know. I am always looking to expand my library.

Keep listening. Keep rocking.

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