Music is already known to provide positive health effects to listeners, such as improving sleep, reducing stress, and strengthening the immune system. Classical music is considered the most beneficial, while genres at the opposite pole, like heavy metal, were found to have a negative effect on human body and mind. Whether you stick to just a few well-known pieces by Mozart and Chopin or you are an experimented classical music listener, here are some good reasons to prefer this type of music:
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Improving brain power
The so-called “Mozart effect” consists of students performing better in tests after listening to classical music. People who listened to classical music before a test were also found to complete the questions more quickly – or their IQ over time has improved.
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Better sleep
Instead of counting sheep, drinking a glass of wine, or worse, checking email on your smartphone, you should establish a bed night routine involving 45 minutes of classical music. Other music genres work as well, but classical music seems to be the most effective.
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Getting over traumatic events
Classical music can help people process emotions after a traumatic event. Studies have shown that adults who have been through a drama in childhood engaged with music in a different manner from those who did not have such issues.
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Knowing yourself better
By exposing yourself and especially your children to classical music you can uncover a talent you never knew existed. You may discover your child has a particular musical talent, and you can take a break from the daily hustle and bustle and think more about the things that matter to you.
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Regulating your heartbeat
Your heart beats too fast? Listening to music with a slower tempo can help you regulate your heartbeat. When listening to classical music, your heart rate adjusts to the music’s tempo. You don’t need to be a classical music lover, because this effect happens no matter what is your opinion on the music style you are listening to.
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Sparking your creativity
Listening to classical music gets your creativity flowing. Those who are great writers, for instance, are also passionate readers – original ideas don’t come from anywhere, you need to feed your brain with pleasant and entertaining experienced to keep creativity fresh, and this is what music allows you to achieve.
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Improving productivity
But what if you have repetitive tasks to complete rather than needing to produce original ideas? Classical music can help with this one too, as a series of studies have proven that music makes repetitive work more enjoyable and increases productivity.
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It calms you down while driving
People who are prone to road rage are recommended to listen to classical music while driving. The soothing effects of classical music can calm down furious drivers and prevent them from pressing the accelerator pedal too hard.
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Alleviating pain
Bob Marley said “One good thing about music, is when it hits you, you feel no pain.” – maybe music can’t replace painkillers entirely, especially after surgery, but it can decrease stress and depression. Classical music stimulates the brain’s reward center, which helps reducing pain sensations.
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Helping you with your diet
A major problem of many people nowadays is not focusing on food and thus ignoring the signals that warn them they are fool. This is what happens when you eat in front of the TV or check social media on the phone while also having lunch. Scientists recommend playing soft classical music and dimming lights in dining areas. This helps you enjoy food more, concentrate on what you eat, and eventually eat less.
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Studying more effectively
Classical music is more suitable for listening while studying because its beat per minute is lower and it doesn’t have distracting lyrics. Classical music makes you more receptive to new information because it places you in a distraction-free emotional state.
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Helping you to relax
A study by Russian authors published in Human Physiology showed that listening to classical music for a long period of time improves relaxation levels in the human body. So, if you need to complete a difficult activity such as studying a subject you don’t like, classical music helps you achieve that relaxation state you need to become productive.
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Improving your physical performance
Classical music and other genres are helpful when it comes to performing physical tasks, whether they involve coordination or strengthening fitness. You can listen to music while running or biking and you will be motivated to work harder. The mix between exercise and music makes you enjoy the music more, while also becoming more involved in your exercises and burning more calories.
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Recovering faster after an workout
Maybe you don’t feel like listening to classical music while running, but you can give it a try after working out. Scientists have found that listening to music makes the body recover faster after a workout. It’s not just relaxation – music seems to speed up the physical recovery process.
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Expanding your general knowledge
Classical music represents the entry towards a whole new world, and if you start to love it, you become interested in other subjects as well. You begin to research the lives of famous musicians, you listen to a larger number of classical music pieces, you learn music theory elements, and you attend classical music concerts. Going to such events is the perfect occasion to meet people with similar interests, hear the latest cultural news, and find a partner to have an interesting conversation with. Any new experience expands our horizons, but classical music definitely takes you to a brighter side.
Including classical music into your life can be a thrilling and beneficial experience for multiple reasons. This music genre improves your health and well-being, it helps you become more productive, it boosts your creativity, and it also improves you social life, adding more to its cultural side. So, what are you waiting for? Buy tickets for a music concert or at least add some classical music to your playlist and enjoy the positive effects.
