July• 2019 | 119studied doing squats while listen-
ing to a favourite song took off more
explosively and performed reps at
greater speeds than those doing them
in silence, one study found. People
also run faster and hold heavy weights
longer when listening to music.8
Listening to music before bed can
help you fall asleep faster, wake up
less often during the night, and feel
more rested in the morning, according
to the US National Sleep Foundation.
In one study conducted in Taiwan,
seniors with sleep problems who
listened to 45 minutes of soft, slow
music before bed reported a 35 per
cent improvement in the duration of
their shut-eye and less dysfunction
throughout the day.9
Music has been used to heal for
centuries, and now we’re learn-
ing why it works. The latest meta-
analysis of 400 studies finds that
listening to music promotes the
body’s production of an antibody
(called immunoglobulin A) that
attacks viruses and bacteria, as well
as natural ‘killer cells’, which kill
invading viruses and cancerous cells.10
Time does fly when you’re
listening to music: scientists
have shown repeatedly that people
judge a period of waiting as shorter
when music is playing. Retailers use
that to their advantage, playing music
so you stay longer and spend more.levels, which in turn means less pain
medication.4
People come up with more
creative solutions when they
listen to happy, upbeat music than
when they sit in silence, according to
researchers from the Netherlands and
Australia. It may be because music
improves your brain’s flexibility or
because it relaxes you enough for the
creative juices to flow. But don’t play
the music too loudly; research also has
found that moderate volume provides
the creativity sweet spot.5
When you listen to music, your
brain releases dopamine, the same
neurotransmitter that’s released when
you eat chocolate or have sex. One
study found that just the anticipation
of knowing the best part of a song is
coming can get the dopamine flowing.6
Feel like quitting a workout?
Whether you’re running, biking or
walking, you’ll go farther if you pump
up the jams, studies have found.
Music distracts you from your discom-
fort and motivates you to stay with the
beat. The effect is so profound that the
author of a 2012 review examining
the psychological effects of music on
exercise called music “a type of legal
performance-enhancing drug”.7
That rush of energy you feel when
you put on your best power song
is real. University-age men who were