"There's something about music and engaging in musical activities that seem very stimulating for the brain and body. Sing your favorite songs with family and friends, playing in a band or dancing to music can also strengthen ties with other people," says neuroscientist, Dr. Petr Janata of the University of California, Davis as reported brainready.com, Monday (01/30/2012).
Reducing pain
Some studies have found that listening to music can reduce pain. Other studies have shown that music can be beneficial for patients with heart disease by reducing blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety.
Music therapy has also been shown to lift the spirits of patients with depression. Create your own music, either playing musical instruments or singing, can have therapeutic effects as well.
When listening to or involved in the music that makes happy, relaxed, contemplative, the body will have the effect of deep relaxation such as sleep, warm baths, and lower overall stress levels.
Improve the ability of the brain
There are several studies that show how music can enhance brain function. In one study, a clinical psychologist Charles Emery of Ohio State University studied the effects of music on people who listen to them for regular exercise.
Emery and his team tested 33 men and women who were in the final weeks of cardiac rehabilitation programs. Each participant was tested for the ability to mentally after exercising without music and exercising with music.
The result, on average, participants received scores more than doubled when listening to music after a workout without listening to music than after exercise. The selected music is Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons".
Previous studies by other scientists suggests that music helps patients with lung disease to mental abilities may work better.
Emery thought the same benefits can be gained by listening to all kinds of music, not just classical music. He theorized that the "Four Seasons" can stimulate mental performance because of its complexity forcing the brain to regulate nerve transmission.
"But other types of music may work better for some people. I do not think there is anything special on the music of Vivaldi or classical music that would trigger an increase in brain function," Emery said.
Improve intelligence
Several other studies have illustrated that listening to music is a business that is more complex than it seems. The human brain to sort out the tone, timing, and sequencing of sound to understand the music.
Believed that the frontal lobes of the brain is stimulated and activated when listening to music. Because the area is part of the brain associated with higher mental functions such as abstract thinking or planning.
Frances Rauscher, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh and her colleagues found that listening to Mozart's music can enhance people in the field of mathematical reasoning and spatial abilities.
In fact, mice that run mazes faster and more accurately after hearing Mozart. According to Rauscher, Mozart piano sonata seems to stimulate the activity of three genes involved in nerve cell signals in the brain.
Listening to music is one way of listening to music passively to obtain benefits for the brain. But a more stimulating brain activity and even increase IQ is playing or writing music.
Children six years old who were given music lessons when compared to drama lessons or no extra instruction received 2-3 points in his IQ scores.
Rauscher also found that after getting music lessons for two years, pre-school children scored better on spatial reasoning tests than those following the computer lessons. But the benefits may not be the same for adults.
