Do you have that one song or playlist that helps to put your mind at ease when you have had a stressful day? Or when you need some encouragement and motivation to keep pushing forward? Well, I’m here to tell you that music can most definitely play a role in improving your mental health.
Here are 3 benefits as to how:
Enhances Work Focus
Studies have determined and proven that listening to classical music or electronic dance music (EDM) helps the mind to focus and memory while doing work. Also, it helps to increase the ability of the brain to process added information and improves brain activity for better studying habits.
“Music with a tempo of 60 bpm (beats per minute) increases the brain’s ability to process information.”
Music has helped me concentrate when I’m completing lengthy homework assignments. It allows there to be enough noise in the background that it’s not too quiet, but not so much that the music is distracting me. When trying to focus I prefer to listen to r&b and soul. Adele is definitely my go to for focusing.
Provides Energy Boost
Whether it’s been a rough couple of days or weeks, you always have the ride back home with a good playlist to put you back in good spirits. Palladium Private, a private treatment facility, says music helps ease anxiety and decreases levels of stress. As you listen to your playlist, your brain starts to release hormones called endorphins which gives you an expanded sense of excitement and feeling of euphoria, creating that energy boost.
Often our athletes on campus typical listen to rap and hip-hop to get energized and hyped for a game. I walked around campus asking athletes what artist helped them get into game mode. The top two artist that were mentioned were NBA YoungBoy and Lil Baby.
Improves Sleep Patterns
Even as babies, our parents have sung us endless lullabies to ease us to sleep, which plays a major part in our adult lives today. The Sleep Foundation explains that listening to at least 45 mins of music before bed can improve your sleep quality. In addition, listening to music before bed can also decrease the amount of time it takes to fall asleep.
When having difficulty falling asleep, I often restore to music or weather sounds to help me go to sleep. Even though weather sounds aren’t music, I find that they have a rhythmic pattern that mimics music. Rain sounds are the best sounds to fall asleep to.
In pressured times turn on the jams that speak to your soul! Whether it be gospel, rap, r&b, or jazz, just let loose and allow your mind to heal.