Since the ancient civilizations in India, China, Egypt and many others, music has been bound to the most important activities and functions in society, and one of its advantages has always been assisting and supporting varied works; as well as its use in preventing, recovering and rehabilitating human beings´ health.
It is therefore known music produces a series of benefits in those who practice it professionally or as amateurs, or simply in those who listen to it. But not everything is good.
After centuries of research, many of the benefits produced by music have gone beyond the barrier of speculation, in order to integrate scientific studies performed by different universities, and with the support of specialized centers in the topic.
Let us start by quoting an article from the magazine Nature Reviews Neuroscience from the Northwestern University in the United States, in which it is said that musicimproves vocabulary, and it assures that during the musical training to play an instrument, neuronal connections are established that contribute to other aspects of human communication.
In fact, this advantage explains to a great extent why musicians are much more capable of listening to a conversation when there is a noisy background; while most of us find it difficult.
Likewise, scientists from the University of Brunel, in a study published in the magazine Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, proved that listening to a certain kind of music (rock and pop mainly) increases resistance to intense physical exercise up to 15%.
Experts from the Medical Center at the University of Maryland have assured that listening to music benefits the cardiovascular system as much as doing exercise or taking certain drugs. Specifically, analyzing the response of the blood vessels using the ultrasounds while we listen to music, scientists stated that their diameter, measured at the upper arm, increases a 26% as we listen to our favorite music.
On the other hand, the music we say is stressful or unpleasant makes the blood vessels contract down to a six percent.
The experiments proved likewise that listening to songs inviting to dance, the blood vessels expand a 19%, while relaxing music produces an expansion of 11%.
These and other benefits have been proven, just like a series of damages or drawbacks that, while they are not directly produced by music, it has a negative influence on them.
Let us start by quoting and article published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, where it is assured that listening to music as a background while we study, read or perform any cognitive task, dramatically reduces performance and therefore, choosing silence remains as the best choice.
A French research published in the magazine Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research assures that loud music in bars or recreational centers incites to drink a larger amount of alcohol in less time; and in fact, the louder the music is, the faster we want to drink.
Finally, and as a curious piece of information, beyond the benefits or drawbacks of music, according to a study conducted by the universities of California and Arizona, published in Science Magazine, the right ear gathers the speech sounds better, while the left one, responds better to music. Even when we are born, the ear is designed to differentiate the various kinds of sounds and send them to the correct place in the brain.
Translation by Alberto Morales