Melodies have been soothing our mind and soul for a number of centuries. When we listen to music that we like, our brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that causes a feeling of satisfaction. Music competes for brain attention and can help us override fatigue during exercise. We can not only push through the pain to exercise longer and harder when we listen to songs, but also use our energy more efficiently.
One of the most common effects of music is that it can alter our mood and feelings by stimulating brain chemicals. Psyche Loui, an assistant professor at Northeastern University who studies music’s effect on cognitive health and the brain, has found that many of the sensations we experience while listening to or producing music can be quantified. She says,
“Quantification can help imagine practical applications of music, introducing both pleasant benefits and potential medical intervention.”
She is working with Brain.fm to create a melody that optimises the brain’s efficiency, even in the short term. It contains energy at specific frequencies that are similar in rate to your neurons when you’re focused on something. Through a phenomenon called entrainment, the tune can be made to trigger your brain to modulate at that rate to help you focus.
In the last few decades, neuroscientists have made numerous breakthroughs in understanding how our brains work by monitoring them with instruments like FMRI. It can be found that vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning gets better with good music. Nice and calming tunes cause 40% less heart disease and release stress. Music doesn’t have many negative effects but we cannot ignore some important points as well. Today people are more into music that is not so soothing for ears; it has a high pitch, bass which may be harmful to kids and people with heart diseases. It is the responsibility of society to maintain the sweetness and taste that music had some years back.
Sarthak Sinha
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