Listening to the right songs is a powerful tool for social connection.
Research uncovers the real effects of music therapy on dementia patients.
The same effect works on adults, who typically respond with a slower heartrate, reduced blood pressure and decreased activity in the sympathetic nervous system.
Not all music reduces pain to the maximum — find out which tempo works best.
From classical to heavy metal, different tunes trigger surprising effects on your brain — some you’d never expect!
Energise your mind and conquer distractions with this type of music.
The most popular genre of music for better sleep.
The most popular genre of music for better sleep.
Two-thirds of people use music to help them sleep.
People believe that music helps them sleep by blocking out noises and distracting them from wakeful thoughts.
Indeed, studies are starting to show that music can be an effective sleep aid.
The three most popular reasons people endorse for how music helps them sleep are:
People felt that music helps them clear their mind of racing thoughts and gives it something to focus on.
It also puts people in a good mood before they drop off.
For some people, music eases them into a dream-like state, which soon turns to sleep.
For others, music is comforting and soothing.
Some people simply liked to know how long they took to fall asleep and music helped them gauge it.
Classical music was the most popular genre people used to help them sleep, followed by rock, pop and acoustic.
Here is the full list, from most to least frequently used:
The conclusions come from a survey of 651 people of all ages.
The results showed that more than one-third said they used music at least weekly to help them fall asleep.
Many regularly used music for sleep despite not having a disorder of any kind.
The study’s authors write:
“The largest ever survey of everyday use of music for sleep reveals multiple pathways to effect that go far beyond relaxation; these include auditory masking, habit, passion for music, and mental distraction.
This work offers new understanding into the complex motivations that drive people to reach for music as a sleep aid and the reasons why so many find it effective.”
The study was published in the journal PLoS ONE (Trahan et al., 2018).
Classical music may do more than sound beautiful—it could heal the mind.
People use this music to ‘purge’ their negativity.
People use this music to ‘purge’ their negativity.
Liking heavy metal music is a sign of high intelligence, research suggests.
Some people may use heavy metal music as a way of coping with being talented.
Being a ‘metalhead’ is sometimes associated with poor performance and delinquency, but this survey found otherwise.
More intelligent people may find themselves outsiders and use heavy metal music to deal with the stress.
Dr Stuart Cadwallader, the study’s author, says there is a stereotype that more intelligent people are into classical music.
While this is true for some, others take solace in heavy metal.
Dr Cadwallader said that young people enjoy the complex and sometimes political themes in metal that are not explored in mainstream pop music.
Both alienation and being separate from society may chime with some gifted people.
The results come from a survey of 1,057 members of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth in the UK.
This body represents young people aged 11-18 who are in the top 5 per cent academically.
The results showed that while rock was the most popular genre among talented youngsters, one-third rated heavy metal in their top five genres and 6 per cent gave it top spot.
Those who particularly liked heavy metal also tended to have lower self-esteem.
Genres traditionally linked to intelligence — classical music and jazz — were the least popular.
Some young people said they liked to literally ‘jump out’ their frustrations and anger to heavy metal.
Dr Cadwallader said:
“Perhaps the pressures associated with being gifted and talented can be temporarily forgotten with the aid of music.
As one student suggests, perhaps gifted people may experience more pressure than their peers and they use the music to purge this negativity.”
The study was published by the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (Cadwaller, 2007).
“Where words leave off, music begins.” ― Heinrich Heine
“Where words leave off, music begins.” ― Heinrich Heine
Beautiful but sad music can help improve mood when people are feeling blue, research finds.
For the study 220 people recalled something depressing that had happened to them.
They then recalled what type of music they had listened to afterwards.
Choosing beautiful but sad music emerged as the only strategy that people thought had cheered them up.
Dr Annemieke van den Tol, the study’s first author, explained the results:
”We found in our research that people’s music choice is linked to the individual’s own expectations for listening to music and its effects on them.
The results showed that if an individual has intended to achieve mood enhancement through listening to ‘sad’ music, this was in fact often achieved by first thinking about their situation or being distracted, rather than directly through listening to the music chosen.
Indeed, where respondents indicated they had chosen music with the intention of triggering memories, this had a negative impact on creating a better mood.
The only selection strategy that was found to directly predict mood enhancement was where the music was perceived by the listener to have high aesthetic value.”
The study was published in the journal Psychology of Music (Van den Tol & Edwards, 2014).
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