Ever had a distant memory (be it good or bad) conjured up because you heard a particular tune? That’s how much music has an impact on your psyche. But did you know that the latest scientific research has found music to raise spatial IQ (called Mozart Effect) and sharpen focus?
In 1982, a group of researchers from the University of North Texas performed a three-way test to find out the effect of music on memory. They had three groups of postgraduate students, all of whom were given three tests – a pretest, a post-test and lastly, another test after the first two tests.
They were all read a list of words. Both Group 1 & 2 had Handel’s Water Music playing in the background but not group group 3. The difference between group 1 and 2 was that group 1 was asked to imagine how the words look like on paper.
The result is clear: Group 1 and 2 performed better in all 3 tests but group 1 performed better than group 2 in the last test.
That was back in 1982 and the researchers didn’t know why. Well, now we do.
Music’s Effect On Your Hormones
Among music’s many effects is its ability to stimulate release or suppression of various chemicals that includes but not limited to cortisol, testosterone, oxytocin and endorphins.
The chemicals, in turn, affects your state of mind.
For example, cortisol (the hormone released when you’re under stress) excites your neurons – sometimes to death. Needless to say, less neurons mean worse memory. Endorphins, on the other hand, is natural opiate. It distracts your mind from pain and aid healing of wounds.
Thus listening to certain music stimulates certain responses. It can calm you down, rouse you up, inspire bravery, motivation and even anger.
Yet why music stimulates the release of these hormones… no one knows. But one thing is clear:
Not all music is beneficial
Stress management is one of the 4 pillars of of brain fitness yet certain music, whether you realize it or not, add to that pool of stress.
These include Rock & Roll and other types of loud music. It pains me to say this (I was an avid Rock music fan) but studies have shown this type of music decrease attention (perhaps even contributing to attention deficit disorder) and lowers creativity and IQ. Why that is the case must have something to do with the chemicals released though which exactly, I don’t know.
So if you would like to reap the benefits of music on your brain, listen to baroque (classical) music. That’s why it’s the Mozart Effect, not the Led Zeppelin Effect.
