What influence does music have on people?

Music is a universal language capable of awakening emotions and unique sensations. Sometimes you hear someone sing in an unknown language, but you manage to feel what you want to convey, even if you do not know specifically what the lyrics say. What you do know is that you are expressing something cheerful, or sad, or dramatic, etc.

Music is like chocolate, almost everyone likes it. This has happened since time immemorial. Since the culture itself exists, there is also a place for those rhythmic sounds that communicate feelings. In all times and in all civilizations there has existed this particular form of expression, so rich in styles.

Without realizing it, sometimes we go to music looking for a container for feelings that overwhelm us, a place where they can overflow freely without harming anyone. Other times we meet to dance and make the musical rhythms mark the party. We also look for melodies to reassure us, or to study or work. But what is really the influence of music on our mind?

An experiment around music

This experiment was carried out in the psychology faculty of the BUAP, in Mexico. It was led by Professor Roberto Valderrama Hernández. His purpose was to find out what was the effect of a "strong" melody on anxiety. By "strong" melody it is understood that one that has an irregular rhythm, marked, fast and listened to a high volume. Basically it corresponds to "heavy metal" or "heavy metal".

For the study, 137 subjects were chosen. Among them, 31 were men and 106 women. The average age was 20 years and they were all psychology students. First, they were given a test to measure their state of anxiety. Then they were made to listen to fragments of heavy metal of 5 minutes each. In total, each researcher completed a 47-minute listening.

The researcher could observe that during the listening periods, the participants increased the nervousness. They were restless and expressed it by constantly changing their position and with erratic movements of the hands and feet

Valderrama could conclude that this type of exciting melodies increased the level of anxiety. The explanation is that this kind of rhythms intensely stimulate the sympathetic system and this increases the physical and psychological tension. If it is not released through movements such as dancing or jumping, the energy accumulates and gives rise to symptoms typical of anxiety.

The positive effect of music

That musical notes "generate" energy is not a problem. The problem comes when this energy can not be spent doing physical activity. In that sense, "loud music" is great for situations that demand energetic or competitive behavior.

Also, musical notes have the ability to relax. It is achieved with those genres that have more regular, slow rhythms and the volume is not that high. Some pieces of classical music, instrumental or soft pop contribute to reassure us. They are even used in rooms where radiotherapies or aggressive medical treatments are carried out.

Science has been able to establish that musical rhythms stimulate different areas of the brain. In fact, research from the University of Florida suggests that musical rhythms offer more brain activation than any other known stimulus. Among the main positive effects are the following:

• Strengthens learning and memory.
• Regulates the hormones related to stress.
• Allows to evoke experiences and memories.
• It affects the heartbeat, blood pressure and pulse.
• Modulates the speed of brain waves.

It has also been proven that good music strengthens the immune system and translates into better health. Not for nothing do the cows give more milk when Mozart's sonatas are put on them. Nor is it unfortunate that plants flourish more when there is background music. The key is to find the rhythm that can favor us in each specific situation, so that we can take full advantage of our favor.

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