Theresa Quinn Shares 3 Ways Music Affects Your Brain
It’s very rare you’ll come across someone who doesn’t like music. Music plays an integral part in our everyday lives. Whether we’re jamming out to the radio during our commute to work, hyping ourselves up to an upbeat playlist at the gym, or simply relaxing at home to soothing tunes, there is a song for every type of vibe, mood, or action. Since music is such an important part of our lives, it’s worth examining how music can affect our brain and mood.
Theresa Quinn, New York native, music lover, and innovative pianist, organist, and vocalist, shares 3 interesting ways in which music affects our brains.
1. Creativity can improve through ambient noise
Whether you’re painting a picture or writing a blog post, it’s a natural instinct to turn up the tunes. Even in the movies, we’re shown scenes where the protagonist is dancing around with their paintbrush in hand, jamming out to a loud tune. Well, studies show that loud music is not the best choice for fostering creative ideas. Instead, mid-level ambient sounds help improve the creative process. Ambient noises lower your brains need to multi-task and helps it to focus on the task at hand.
2. Music training can improve motor and reasoning skills
It’s no secret that playing an instrument is good for you. Aside from teaching you discipline and an appreciation for music, musical training can actually assist greatly in the improvement of auditory and motor skills. Theresa Quinn points out the results from one study that shows children who had musical training tested better on vocabulary and reasoning skills than their counterparts who were not musically trained. Playing an instrument helps develop important aspects of our brain.
Exercise routines can improve by including music
Every time you go to the gym, the first thing you do is untangle your headphones and put on your favorite power song. There’s a reason we rely on music at the gym. It’s not just about tuning out the weights and the people grunting all around you. Music has a way of helping us zone out, ignore the aches and pains, and focus on the workout at hand. Music at around 145 beats per minute can help us become more motivated during a workout.