Why Music Makes Us Happy

We all have had more than a year of ups and downs since the Covid-19 outbreak. However, despite the changes we are experiencing globally from health to the climate, it is important to keep our chins up and stay positive! To celebrate United Nations International Day of Happiness 2021, we decided to write about why music makes us happy!

We all know the power of music. It makes horror movies scarier than it really is. It can also bring up sad memories and most important of all, music can make us happy. There is something about music that breathes life into us whenever it is played and listened to. In this post, we explore why music makes us happy.

1. We all Respond to Music

When we are in a bad mood, we could tune in to a happy song and it could change our mood. A study conducted at Stanford University found that people use music the way they would use food or shopping to relieve stress and emotional doldrums.

We respond to music the moment we are born. Studies have found that babies are able to recognize happy music when they hear them. They react happily to happy tines and are just as affected by sad songs.

2. Music Alleviates Psychological Pain

Music has the effect of helping us release pain. As our attention goes to the music instead of bodily pain, it relaxes the body and tension around the affected area. We also know that music plays an important role for people with special needs. It helps people with dementia recall parts of their past.

Music therapy has an important place in the treatment of various mental health challenges. It includes helping children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) improve their math skills. Music also helps children focus in school.

3. Music Lifts Your Mood

The reason why music has been around for such a long time is because of the intense pleasure it can biologically induce in the brain. It has been found at McGill University that music induced-pleasure increases the heart rate, pulse, breathing, and other measurements. People who have reported feeling shivers or chills listening to music were brought to the lab along with their favourite music which gave them chills of pleasure. After 15 minutes of listening, scientists injected participants with a radioactive substance that binds to dopamine receptors. Using a PET scanner, the scientists could see if the substance simply circulated through the listeners’ blood, which indicates they had released a lot of dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical responsible for both motivation and addiction.

The experiment showed that the listeners’ brains released large amounts of dopamine when they listened to music that gave them chills. When the same people listened to different music the next day, their dopamine receptors remained wide open.

4. Music Releases Tension

While music can release dopamine and induce us into a sense of pleasure, it can also help us reduce stress. Music has the ability to calm our minds and body. It reduces the stress hormones in our body and we all know less tension means we are also happier.

5. Music Increases Opportunities for Socialization

Social connections have across human cultures been the key to our well-being. Very happy tend to be more social and have strong relationships. Kids with a deeper network of social connections grow up to be happier adults.

Music is a great tool to allow us to socialize. We meet people when we play music, we learn music with friends and we also enjoy music with our partners when we are out on a date. Music allows us to connect to one another, create conversations and deepen our relationships.

Let music add happiness to your life. Meet new friends at Ritmo Music Studio in Singapore and jam with friends when you learn a new musical instrument.