Music Is the Key to My Happiness (But Is It Really?)
Written by Craig Rogers, Posted on , in Section Relationships That Matter
I am listening to music as I write this. Like many people, most of my daily activities are accompanied by music. On the drive to work in the morning I prefer to listen to something like Queen, whereas during my day I prefer something more upbeat like Ratatat. On my drive home, I prefer to listen to something mellow like The Postal Service. My point is that music is a large part of our lives, but how does it really affect you? Are you more productive while listening to music? Can music influence how difficult your morning workout is? Music has many effects on the physiology of your body, influencing your mood, changing the way you workout, and more.
Music makes us move
Listening to music while working out makes your body more efficient. A recent study found that cyclists were much more efficient while listening to music compared to exercising in silence. They were able to pedal more efficiently and ended up using less oxygen than those individuals that were in silence. It was found that music was acting to distract these cyclists, making them less aware of their level of fatigue and thus resulting in more efficient pedaling. However, distraction is not always good. A similar study found that drivers that listen to music are more prone to making mistakes. Furthermore, music can also affect how we perceive others.
Perception altering
When it comes to how we perceive others, the tone or mood of the music we are listening to can make a huge difference. Researchers found that listening to happy or cheerful music makes a person more likely to see others as happy or upbeat. On the other hand, listening to sad music makes a person more likely to see others as sad or depressed. Our taste in music can also tell others what our personality is like. It was found that certain types or genres of music correlate with specific types of personalities. For example, fans of rap music are likely to be outgoing and have high self-esteem, while fans of country music are hardworking and outgoing.
Turn it down
Type or genre of music is not the only way music can influence somebody. It was found that volume effects creativity. Researchers found that a moderate noise level is optimal for promoting creativity. Volume or type of music is not the only way that music can affect an individual. How does music affect our reasoning ability and attention? Learning how to play an instrument has many benefits. If you never become the next rockstar, you will still benefit because researchers found that learning how to play an instrument improves visual attention and verbal and nonverbal reasoning skills. Patients with dementia were found to have significantly increased levels of attention while listening to music. Music has an immense impact on our lives every single day. With these facts in mind, you can make the most of your day.
