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12 Mind-Blowing Fun Facts About Music and the Brain You Need to Know!

illustration of music-and-the-brain
Dive into the harmonious symphony of music and brain, as we unravel some toe-tapping, mind-blowing fun facts about this melodious connection!

1. Brain-sync Rockers

Whoever said laughter is the best medicine never jammed on a guitar solo: musical training can actually improve the synchronization of brain rhythms with a musical beat, especially during tempo changes, ultimately boosting linguistic abilities since music and speech share similar brain networks. Let the beat rock on, brainiacs!
Source => scientificamerican.com

2. Tune-Boosted Happiness

Tickle the ivories and your funny bone: According to a study, indulging in a harmony-heavy, toe-tapping medley of upbeat tunes for a full fortnight can give your mood and happiness levels a masterpiece-of-a-boost!
Source => sclhealth.org

3. Mozart Brain Magic

Ever wondered if you've got a little "Mozart brain magic" hidden inside you, just waiting to be unleashed by the swell of a symphony? Well, your spatial-temporal reasoning skills might just have some secret rockin' to the rhythm of this classical maestro: Research by psychologist Frances Rauscher in 1993 discovered that after a mere ten minutes of Mozart tunes, people's spatial-temporal abilities showed notable improvement. However, if you're hoping for an all-around IQ buff or Einstein-esque transformation, you're better off keeping your eggs in the practice, practice, practice basket. But hey, Alzheimer's patients and those with epilepsy have reaped some brain benefits from the Mozart mania, so there's definitely a hidden harmony worth exploring further!
Source => tomsonhighway.com

4. Beethoven's Gym Playlist

If Beethoven were a personal trainer: strapping on headphones and cranking up some tunes while you pump iron might just help you bench more than you ever thought possible! The serious reveal: Research suggests that music can distract our brains from fatigue and discomfort during exercise, improving physical performance and synchronizing movements to achieve optimal energy efficiency — just be sure to match your beats to the tempo and rhythm needed to make your workout a masterpiece.
Source => scientificamerican.com

Mind-Meld Jam Sessions

5. Mind-Meld Jam Sessions

Whoever said "two brains are better than one" probably jammed out with their friends: Playing music in sync with others can lead to synchronization of brainwaves between musicians at low frequencies, typically associated with social interaction and motor functions.
Source => themusiciansbrain.com

6. Songbird Brain Buddies

Forget about decoding secret love letters from your grade-school crush, because our brains have been mastering the art of decoding tunes since we were still in diapers: The left hemisphere of the human brain processes a song's speech content while the right hemisphere tackles the melody, which closely resembles the way songbirds decipher sounds, with certain areas of the right hemisphere being responsible for our ability to perceive music.
Source => npr.org

7. Healing Power of Music

Who needs a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down when you've got the sweet sound of music to take the sting out of an IV needle? Mary Poppins, eat your heart out: Listening to soothing tunes can not only reduce stress by triggering our natural pain relievers (hello, opioids), but a 2013 study also found that pediatric emergency room patients who jammed out while getting IVs inserted experienced significantly less pain and distress than their mute counterparts.
Source => thetabernaclechoir.org

8. Brain Play-Doh Symphony

Just tickling the ivories, plucking the strings, or bopping the glockenspiel could turn your brain into a veritable Play-Doh wonderland of gray matter: playing a musical instrument can lead to increased gray matter volume in areas like the corpus callosum and primary motor cortex, with positive effects observed in musicians who began training early and kept practicing, and suggest music-making as an intervention for neurological and developmental disorders, or even counteracting normal aging.
Source => ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

9. Monkeying Around with Memory

Next time you're jamming to your favorite tunes and someone accuses you of "just monkeying around," thank them for the brain-boosting compliment: Studies have shown that familiar music enhances learning and memory retention, with the hippocampus orchestrating a complex symphony of auditory, motor, and memory processes as lyrics and melodies coalesce in our mental lexicon.
Source => musicpsychology.co.uk

Aging Gracefully with Beethoven

10. Aging Gracefully with Beethoven

Ever thought of giving Beethoven a run for his money in your golden years? It turns out tickling the ivories might just tickle your neurons too: engaging in musical activities during older age can positively impact brain structure, benefitting executive function, memory, language, and emotion, potentially helping to preserve brain health as we age.
Source => ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

11. "Too Loud" Brain Meltdown

Well, folks, it appears that "Too Loud" isn't just a stage name for heavy metal artists or a catchphrase for grumpy old neighbors: Studies have shown that exposure to noise above 85 dBA can impair cognitive performance, altering brain activity in the Alpha and Beta frequency bands, particularly within the frontal and occipital regions, ultimately reducing mental workload and attention.
Source => ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

12. Beethoven's Jaw-ravating Solution

Move over, Beethoven's Chews-dy: Rumor has it that the maestro of symphony once fixed himself up with a gnarly dental apparatus to grind out them-worthy tunes: The truth is, Beethoven employed an ingenious method called bone conduction, whereby he connected a rod from his piano to his jaw, transmitting the musical vibrations from the instrument directly into his skull - it's no biting matter, but it's what kept the deaf genius composing!
Source => uk.shokz.com

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