Music and the mind: A key to lifelong brain health
People who practice music, in particular, learn to play musical instruments and improve their brain function later in life. If you want to strengthen your body, go to the gym. If you want to train your brain, listen to music. Several things stimulate the brain the way music does. If you want to keep your brain active as you age, listening to or playing music is a great tool. This provides a complete brain workout.
Studies have shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain, as well as improve sleep quality, mood, mental activity, and memory. Listening to or playing music increases blood flow to the areas of the brain that generate and control emotions. The limbic system, which is involved in emotion processing and memory management, lights up when our ears perceive music.
A new study published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry has shown that playing music and creating it are somehow linked to improved brain health later in life. Playing the piano, in particular, has been closely linked to improved memory and the ability to solve complex problems, especially in old age.
The Brain-Music Connection
The stereo system emits vibrations that travel through the air and somehow enter the ear canal. These vibrations tickle the eardrum and are converted into an electrical signal that travels along the auditory nerve to the brain stem, where it is converted into something that we perceive as music.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University observed dozens of jazz performers and rappers improvising while lying in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine to see which areas of their brains were activated.
Learn an instrument
Playing musical instruments is associated with improved memory and the ability to perform complex tasks, especially when playing keyboards. The study showed that people who continued to play musical instruments later in life showed the best results, indicating the importance of practicing music throughout their lives.
The analysis showed that people with more musical experience and familiarity with music throughout their lives had better cognitive abilities later in life. In addition, playing music later in life has further enhanced these benefits.
The Johns Hopkins Medicine report notes that when 13 older adults took piano lessons, their attention, memory, and problem-solving abilities improved, as well as their mood and quality of life. You don’t have to become a professional; just take a few lessons.
Try listening to familiar music, especially if it belongs to the same period that you are trying to remember. Visit. A F R I N I K . C O M . For the full article. For example, listening to The Beatles can take you back to the moment when you first saw your spouse.
“Playing keyboard instruments has demonstrated a strong effect on both memory and executive function. Playing brass and woodwind instruments also improved memory, while singing was associated with better performance on challenging tasks,” Corbett told Newsweek.
Playing and reading music are challenging tasks that challenge the brain. Music is structural, mathematical, and architectural. It is based on the relationship between one note and the next. You may not realize it, but your brain has to do a lot of calculations to make sense of it.
