Music and dance have always been a part of my life. I’m a former Latin Dance champion, but I love music of all kinds. And now that I’ve discovered this research on the wild benefits of listening to music, I might just love it even more!
As a leading expert in the field of weight loss nutrition, I’m constantly searching for healthy and natural solutions to slim and shape the body. My clients and followers rely on me to keep them up to date on any cutting edge developments in research on weight loss.
And so, I’m excited as always to share this fascinating research with the world.
The idea of “musical therapy” is nothing new. After all, humans have been making music for more than 40,000 years. We have documentation of music being used as therapy as far back as 2,000 years ago.
Scientists only started paying attention in the early twentieth century, however, when the Journal of the American Medical Association published an experiment on playing a phonograph in operating rooms to calm (and distract) patients during surgery. (Keep in mind that the patients were wide awake, and you’ll understand why it was so necessary to keep them relaxed.)
Things have changed a lot since then, but now researchers are again looking to try music for pre-surgery patient care for those same calming results. Drugs like midazolam (similar to Valium) also calm the nerves, but some patients don’t react well to it, actually becoming more anxious.
New studies suggest that playing relaxing music might actually be more effective at reducing stress than regular drugs. Heart rate was lower in patients who listened to music than those who were given medication. Blood pressure was lower. Anxiety scores were lower. Not just “the same as,” but lower. Soft jazz proved better—and had fewer side effects—than midazolam.
We’ve all experienced how music can calm anxiety, and maybe none of that surprises you too much.
So here’s something really exciting: Certain studies indicate that music might have an effect on our metabolism, too.
Listening to music—music we like—seems to increase our metabolic rate enough that we burn around twenty-eight extra calories per day without changing anything else.
Twenty-eight calories may not seem like a huge number, but the really exciting fact here is that something totally unconnected to diet, like listening to music, can have a positive effect on our metabolism.
So turn up your favorite beats, and let your upgraded metabolism do the rest.
And if it gets you in the mood for a little booty-shaking action… even better!
I’d love to hear from you, too. What music are you listening to today? Please share in the comments!
References
A Yamasaki, A Booker, V Kapur, A Tilt, H Niess, K D Lillemoe, A L Warshaw, C Conrad. The impact of music on metabolism. Nutrition. 2012 Nov-Dec;28(11-12):1075-80.
B Snell, S Fullmer, D L Eggett. Reading and listening to music increase resting energy expenditure during an indirect calorimetry test. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2014 Dec;114(12):1939-42.
H Bringman, K Giesecke, A Thörne, S Bringman. Relaxing music as pre-medication before surgery: a randomised controlled trial. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2009 Jul;53(6):759-64.
E O Kane. Phonograph in Operating-Room. AMA. 1914;LXII(23):1829.
D S Adler. Archaeology: The earliest musical tradition. Nature. 2009 Aug 6;460(7256):695-6.
N J Conard, M Malina, S C Münzel. New flutes document the earliest musical tradition in southwestern Germany. Nature. 2009 Aug 6;460(7256):737-40.
S M van Anders, L D Hamilton, N Schmidt, N V Watson. Associations between testosterone secretion and sexual activity in women. Horm Behav. 2007 Apr;51(4):477-82.
