The lockdown has pushed many individuals into stress and depression. As suggested by science, the only way of coming out of this situation is by listening to music.
Music is a form of art that has the strength of intensifying or pacifying any kind of mood. Music helps in the secretion of those hormones which help in coping up with stress and boredom, as well as fill the mind with joy and happiness. And, amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, when everyone is forced to stay at home or work from home, music will certainly help to drive away boredom and rejuvenate the mind.
Here are 7 ways music can help you deal with the coronavirus lockdown:
- Music reduces stress levels
According to research, listening to music can help listeners in coping up with stress. This fact is not only theoretically proved but also practically observed. As shown by some research, slow classical music is the perfect medicine to growing stress. Another study proved that the impact of music is greater in dealing with anxiety than anti-anxiety pills. Not only classical music but Jazz and Pop music are also capable of helping the listeners curb the stress levels.
- Music improves physical and mental health
Amidst the long lockdown, there may be some chances of your mental health getting a bit disturbed and being at home all day will certainly affect your physical health. Listening to music helps in releasing dopamine, a feel-good hormone, which provides the mind with pleasure similar to that of making love or eating food. Also, if you are one of those fitness freaks who are maintaining their health through proper diet, music can help you follow the diet by satisfying food cravings. Another research shows that music has the strength of improving the immunity of the body.
- Music helps in working out
Since the lockdown has forced you to stay away from the gym, exercising at home automatically becomes the only possible option. And, since music is one of the most important components of working out, listening to it while exercising at home, can really help you feel the ambiance of the gym. As suggested by research, listening to music can increase endurance by 15%, which is certainly useful while working out. According to a Norwegian study, classical music is the most effective genre in this case. It helps in improving focus, allowing you to concentrate on a particular body part and last longer.
Well, there is another study that suggests if the speed of the music is between 125 bpm and 140 bpm, it will be more effective. Music also helps in reducing injury-related pain, increase control over the pain, and improve tolerance.
- Music freshens up the mood
Rejuvenating the mood during this lockdown is a must to cope up with stress. And, as mentioned earlier, listening to music helps in releasing the feel-good hormone called dopamine. The secretion of this hormone helps in uplifting the mood by making the listeners feel positive emotions, such as happiness, excitement, joy, etc.
- Music improves IQ
There are many studies that show learning, playing, or listening to a musical instrument can help in improving a person’s IQ by as many as seven points. Since schools and colleges are closed, students can improve their IQ by indulging themselves in playing or learning musical instruments. The long lockdown will give you enough time to learn instrumental skills as well as sharpen the previously learned skills. It will help in refreshing your mind as well as sharpen your intelligence. Thus, you can easily compensate for the missed classes by making your brain sharper and scoring better in the online classes.
According to another study, learning or playing classical instruments increases brain power, coming out of a practical exam that involved two different sets of students who were given the task of listening to a lecture for 15 minutes. One of two sets was enhanced through music while the other was kept free from it.
At the end of the lecture, the students were asked to answer some multiple-choice questions related to what they had learned from the lecture. And, as suggested by the results, it was pretty clear that those students who had listened to music performed way better in the quiz that those students who had attended the lecture without music. This ultimately proves the efficiency of music in improving brain power and IQ. So, wait no more and get started with learning music.
- Music boosts up memory
Music helps in strengthening different parts of the brain, ultimately helping in improving memory. It enhances the adaptability of the brain, making a person learn things better and keep it in mind for long after learning it. Thus, if you are one of those people, who tend to forget things, this months-long lockdown is the best time to brush up the memory. Consider learning any instrument of your choice or sing on a daily basis to boost up your memory and come out of the lockdown with something appreciable.
Though there are no proven reasons for music’s power in making a positive impact over the listeners’ minds, it is certainly safe to say that listening to it won’t do any bad to you and will improve your lives.
- Music helps in improving various skills
A lot of researches suggest that if a kid listens to music or learns to play any instrument, it will automatically help the kid in enhancing communication skills, verbal skills, and visual skills.
During the conduction of such research, children of ages between 4 and 6 years were admitted to musical education, which involved vocal training, melody training, rhythm and pitch training, and other musical concepts. In the results, it was seen that the children were able to learn, communicate, and describe things much better.
Another study suggested that children of ages between 8 and 11, who were admitted into music classes as extra-curricular activities, had enhanced visual abilities as well as verbal intelligence quotients, compared to their mates who weren’t involved in such classes.
The above-mentioned points show that listening to or learning music this COVID-19 lockdown can easily help you with coping up with the negative atmosphere, reducing stress, improving mental and physical health, as well as enhancing memory. So, create dedicated playlists now and start your day with refreshing music.