Spotlight
The Health Benefits of Classical Music
People often associate the classical music genre with operas, symphony concerts, or even older television shows. Many of your favorite singers, rappers, and hip-hop artists are also classically trained in music.
While these associations aren’t invalid, research shows that classical music has many ties to our health that people overlook. Frequent listeners of orchestral pieces may experience more relaxed moods, increased productivity, relief of stress, improved sleep, and even lower blood pressure. These are just some of the health benefits that classical music provides for people.
One of the major boons of classical music is its anxiety-reducing quality. Research studies have shown that listening to classical music reduces cortisol levels.
Cortisol is a hormone that acts as an alarm system for your body. If you have high cortisol levels, you may experience mood swings and anxiety as a result.
Scientists found that orchestral music helped listeners feel more relaxed. These people also had reduced brain activity and heart rate after listening to classical music.
Another huge benefit of listening to this genre is its ability to treat insomnia.
A 2006 study done on college students showed that relaxing classical music improved their sleep.
Insomniacs usually suffer from daytime sleepiness, fatigue, irritability, or memory problems. College students would certainly benefit from frequently listening to classical music. Lack of sleep is far too common among college students.
The Journal of Adolescent Health found that three in five students have irregular sleep-wake patterns. These students should consider listening to orchestra music in order to aid their insomnia.
Classical music also can improve your mood. Research shows that listening to classical music increases dopamine in the body.
Dopamine is a chemical that controls how the brain interprets pleasure. It also controls our emotions and movements.
This is important because classical music could be considered a therapeutic method of easing depression symptoms. Of course, it is not a substitute for other therapeutic methods, but it may be helpful in addition to other methods.
Finally, classical music increases productivity.
Dr. Gordon Shaw developed a theory in the 1990s called the Mozart effect. He theorized that listening to classical music made you smarter.
Even though the theory isn’t popular now, it did spark scientists to study the classical music genre more closely. They pondered whether the genre could truly improve a person’s brainpower.
Research shows that classical music can increase one’s productive output depending on the task’s difficulty.
If you are doing something repetitive, then listening to this genre can help you work harder.
Other researchers believe that background noise can halt one’s productivity, so listening to relaxing music can help drown out distractions. Whichever stance you take, the common theme is that listening to calming music can help you work better.
Classical music is more than just one of the many music genres out there. It has many health benefits that people may ignore or not notice. Those who suffer from anxiety, depression, or insomnia could benefit greatly from listening to this genre.
In a way, classical music is almost like a universal language. Anyone can feel the emotions, passions, and especially the health benefits that this wonderful genre brings out in us.