TOP 5 REASONS WHY LISTENING TO MUSIC CAN BOOST HAPPINESS

Our theme this week at My Breakfast Box is all about cultivating happiness! One easy way of bringing a bit of joy into our lives is listening to music, so we have put together some fab playlists over on our Spotify that will boost your mood and get that happiness going! To give you a little bit of an insight into how exactly music works as a mood lifter, we’ve researched 5 top reasons as to why turning up your fave songs can help you to feel good!

From a physical perspective, at its core music is simply sound waves and vibrations that stimulate the auditory system, which then converts those vibrations into electrical signals that our brain interprets as music. However, music is much more that just the process of listening. It is something that can have a profound effect on our psychological and mental state, including our emotions and perceptions. So much so that numerous studies have been conducted globally to test the power of music on our mood, and have found that it can help us to process a range of feelings such as joy, worry, sadness, anger, love and nostalgia. Music can act as ‘therapy’ by stimulating multiple areas of the brain in unique ways, transforming the act of listening into a therapeutic and emotionally rewarding experience.

The Happiness Drug

One key benefit of music is its effect on the chemical dopamine, also know as the happiness drug! Listening to uplifting music triggers a release of dopamine to the brain, which functions in the same way it would as if you were being rewarded for something. Therefore, humming along to your fave tunes is the ideal way to boost your mood and overall wellbeing, making you feel instantly happier.

Musical Motivation

Listening to music can be a great way to boost motivation, especially when working out. It provides a means of enjoyable focus - that is, something to focus on to distract the mind from the repetitive nature of a workout. Fast, upbeat tunes can really help to energise the body and boost your mood, making that run or dance routine much more fun! Additionally, music with a strong beat or rhythm can stimulate brainwaves to resonate in sync with the tempo, meaning that your mind will be more alert and in tune with your movements.

Creative Juices

As a form of artistic expression, music definitely has an impact on creativity and imagination. Often, songs tell a story or convey a message through their lyrics, which invites the listener to consider the meaning behind the words and their own emotional response. Stimulating emotions and feelings can trigger creativity and an urge to express those feelings through other forms of artistic expression.

Relaaaaax

In the same way that up-tempo tracks can boost motivation levels, slower tempo songs also affect the body by inducing a calm and relaxed state. Slow and easy sounds can subconsciously promote a meditative state of mind by slowing down breathing and heart rate, activating the body’s relaxation response.

Social Bonding

Finally, music is one of the best ways of bringing people closer together in a social setting! We use music as a way of helping us to express our individual identities and who we are, as we identify with and relate to artists and songs that reflect experiences that we may have been through ourselves, helping to express those shared feelings through words and sound. These shared experiences extend to our social identities as we can use music to connect with others who form part of those sub-groups that enjoy the same music as we do. Positive social interactions such as listening to music together helps to boost the oxytocin chemical in our brains, establishing happy feelings of friendship, connectivity and companionship.

Sources:

Shukla, A. 2020. The Importance Of Music: When and why we listen to music. Available online at: www.cognitiontoday.com/the-importance-of-music-when-and-why-we-listen-to-music/

Fries, A. 2009. How Music Feeds and Steers Your Imagination. Available online at: www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-daydreaming/200907/how-music-feeds-and-steers-your-imagination

Lopes, E. 2017. Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Listen to Music Everyday. Available online at: www.musicthinktank.com/blog/top-7-reasons-why-you-should-listen-to-music-every-single-da.html

Kandler, M. 2019. 4 Brain Chemicals That Make You Happy. Available online at: www.happyfeed.co/research/4-brain-chemicals-make-you-happy