Neuroscientists now have evidence that listening to music at work can make you a happier, more productive employee. Why?
Because background music enhances performance on cognitive tasks, improves accuracy, and enables the completion of repetitive tasks more efficiently in the brain. Listening to music you enjoy decreases levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your body, which counteracts the effects of chronic stress. This is an important finding since stress causes 60% of all illnesses and disease.
Music is now one of the most effective tools available for reducing anxiety. Research now proves that when you listen to music your brain releases dopamine, a “feel-good” neurotransmitter that gives you emotions like happiness, joy, and excitement.
Also listening to music in a group setting helps everyone in the room not only feels more connected but can also put us in the same state of mind and on the same level. Perhaps most important to realise is that music helps to improve our memory. When you listen to and/or play music, your left and right brain work simultaneously, which serves to improve the ways in which memories are formed and retained.
Along with anxiety, muscle tension is one of the main issues faced by business people in the workforce. This is particularly the case for anyone who constantly sits at a desk for eight or more hours per day. Listening to music helps reduce tension throughout the body, including the back and shoulders where those so often feel it during working hours. Even keeping something on in the background like the radio can be an effective way to distress and release tension.
The benefits of incorporating music into the workday are many. When we find ourselves trying to come up with a solution to a difficult issue, having creativity on our side is an absolute must.
Listening to music helps to open up different avenues of the creative mind and promotes abstract thinking in ways that are otherwise difficult to match, all the while improving the amount of focus and attention one has to give to come up with effective solutions.
In our industry running into stress throughout the workday is always a possibility.
We sometimes let stress really get to us, which can interrupt even the most productive of days which in-turn can host a lot of other negative effects.
However listening to music is a great way to reduce stress and improve mental clarity, increase intelligence, enhance learning and concentration.
No matter your age, it’s never too soon or too late to fill your life with music at home, in the car or in the workplace!
About Rewire
Rewire is a Not-for-profit organisation based in Melbourne which furthers the research and development of music therapy and neuroscience to enable people to live more fulfilling lives. Since joining the board of professors in neuroscience and music therapy as their Licensing Manager, Clive has learned valuable information about the strong health benefits of music, especially how it can help us while we’re at work.
For more information on Rewire, visit www.rewire.org.au
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