5 tips to jumpstart your brain with music
We are all aware of how important exercising our body is, and we try to do as much as we can to stretch and make our body stronger every day. Yet, do we all take care of our brains to a similar extent? Do we really know what we may do to keep our brain young, and use its potential to the fullest? Have a look at 5 tips to jumpstart your brain with music.
#1 Open your brain to new genres and jumpstart your creativity
We tend to turn on the same genres of music we love, and we keep listening to the same pieces of music every day. Generally, there is nothing wrong with habits, as they give us a feeling of stability and calm us down. What’s more, listening to your favourite pieces causes a dopamine boost, which makes us feel happier and more satisfied.
However, opening to new genres, or songs we would never expect ourselves to listen to, may have a vast influence on our creativity level. New music may not give you pleasure at first, as it puts your brain in the position of struggling with new sounds. In spite of this, when you learn to understand the new sounds, you will find new levels of creativity in yourself that you never expected.
A study has shown the participants listening to upbeat, and music labelled “happy”, had more creative solutions and found more ideas compared to the group who listened to other kinds of music or didn’t listen to music at all. Not all the participants liked the music though.
It’s quite easy to find new music, it’s enough to use a similar song finder to access almost limitless playlists of “happy” songs.
#2 Work faster with your favourite music in the background
Not everyone likes working with music playing in the background, yet, the research on a group of workers has proven background music is a powerful task as far as the performance is concerned.
Employees who listened to the music of their choice, worked much faster, completed the tasks quickly, and their ideas were better than in the case of those who didn’t choose the sound in the office.
Having background music plays a significant role in enhancing performance on cognitive tasks, improving accuracy, and expediting the completion of repetitive tasks.
#3 Reduce stress and work better in high-pressure situations
We may not even be aware of what negative impact chronic stress may have on our brains. Being in high-pressure situations regularly impairs memory, changes the brain structure, kills the brain cells and shrinks the brain. While stress may improve cognitive function, the damage it may cause is much more severe.
Another research analysed how people of different professions reacted to listening to music, not necessarily their favourite one. Software developers were discovered to be happier, letting them produce better work as a result. Surgeons listening to music while operating experienced lower stress levels, and their work was faster and more accurate.
#4 Recall memories to improve your memory
Think for a moment about songs that are really important to you, as you listened to them with your first love, or heard it on your first independent holiday. Recall all the memories, and feelings, and try to visualise the exact moment when you heard or listened to the piece.
Music is powerful enough to recall our autobiographical memories. According to the study of Petr Janata, even patients with increased memory loss, for example, due to Alzheimer’s disease, can still show mental activity when listening to music from their past.
Creating deeper memories by recalling certain times from your past, will surely help your cognition in the future.
#5 Learn to play an instrument
It’s never too late to start learning to play an instrument – when you start as an adult you may not become another Chopin, yet, there is a list of advantages for your brain development.
Music lessons may greatly influence language development, and your test scores will be improved. You may also expect increased brain connectivity, spatial intelligence, and even a modest increase in IQ. That’s why it’s so important for kids to start their music lessons as early as possible.
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5 tips to jumpstart your brain with music