What Makes Us Like Music? Scientifically.

Have you ever wondered why you LOVE a certain song & your bestie just, doesn’t? Is it chemistry? Is it memory? Is it everything in between?

According to Nielson insights, over 90% of Canadians listen to music every year.

So, what makes us tune in?

It’s All in the Brain: Meet the Limbic System

It all comes down to the limbic system. A specific set of brain functions that have a main responsibility to regulate a variety of responses from behavior, to depression and motivation. The limbic system also has a major impact on our fight or flight skills. Even more specifically, mental health disorders - which can heavily effect our daily music selections and future listening habits.

This function acts like a computer and creates its own algorithm. Based off memory, experience, mood & psychology - our brains will automatically predict how we will feel or react to a particular genre, song or rhythm.

If our brains do the dance, we dance.

The Connection Between Music & Mental Health

One way to keep this brain function healthy, aside from a healthy diet and exercise, is to let your body relax and meditate. Taking those much needed self-care days as they come. So - if our minds are constantly thinking and moving, how do we do this?

Mindful Music: Meditation Meets Melody

There are actually a lot of creative and unique ways! Through the focus of deep breath, prayer, movement, transcendence, nature or sound – study research published from Harvard Health shows that only 10 minutes of meditation per day can effectively boost mood and performance.

This can also help with food cravings or binge-eating by a whopping 40 percent! Being mindful not only helps you to connect with your brain, but also to each movement of your body - and your cognitive responses.

The Power of Daily Gratitude

Another big part to keeping the limbic brain healthy is to practice daily gratitude. Some days this may be easier said than done, but celebrating small victories makes you appreciate the bigger ones that are soon to come. It keeps us on our toes, ready to learn and leads us to naturally embrace every part of life’s journey.

When they say live everyday like it’s your last, I fully believe that. Bask in the glory of every win, but learn and redirect within every obstacle.

Brain Gains: How Meditation Changes You

Intentional meditation can also make our brains thicker. Studies done by the National Institutes of Health show that 40 minutes of meditation per day in the period of two months proved to increase the brains cognitive capacity ranging from empathy, memory and learning abilities.

By helping the brain focus more on what’s important and less on what isn’t. Science also concluded that reading levels enhanced in comparison to more controlled groups. More knowledge, more power.

Why Classical Music Still Reigns

This may be the reason classical music is such a popular form of theoretic learning. These very specific aspects of time, rhythm, sound and selective space are all unique elements we use on a daily basis - which is what makes these melodies so famous.

They are very intentional and calculated pieces of work. Not only were they an early development of music, they are one of the most effective in regards to healthy brain activity. It is not abnormal for a doctor to recommend that pregnant women listen to classical music.

An array of positive effects among young children includes both analytical and critical thinking - which ultimately helps with memory and concentration, solving problems faster and more efficiently.

How Music Becomes Memory

Therefore, in proven scientific theories – when music translates from our ear perception to our brain waves, we already unconsciously go through a number of functions in order to understand or process whether we will listen or not.

Just like how this article might have kept you reading or if you've already moved onto something else - our cognitive responses, and music tastes are primarily based on one's unique attention, interest, pleasure, experience and emotion.

Your Soundtrack is Personal

Music isn’t just sound - it's science, memory, emotion and experience, all rolled into one. So the next time you vibe out to a song that gives you chills, know this: your brain is doing exactly what it was wired to do.