Want to Know How Listening to Music Helps Your Memory?

You’ve seen how music helps you cope with stress. And you’ve no doubt figured out ways to bring it into your daily life to keep you younger for longer. Or at least you will do, once you’ve stopped sniping at your partner and actually get some help from the kids…

But that’s exactly why we have been putting music into your inbox for you. It makes people kinder and helps even those as young as 14 months old be more helpful. I tested this scientific fact out on mine by having the piano self-play at tidy up time this week. You know what? It really did work. The toys were away in half the sulks.

Cliché alert: Music is the gift that just keeps giving

Did you know it protects against memory problems and cognitive decline too?

Seniors who play music while doing other activities stay focused for longer. And those with a musical background have a significantly better working memory than those who don’t. Great news – for as we saw in the last article, it’s never too late to learn an instrument.

There is nothing better than music to give your brain a full workout. And it’s the medial prefrontal cortex that’s in charge of long-term memory. It shows up on scans with increased brain activity when people listen to certain songs.

Because emotions enhance the action of storing memories in the brain, listening to music sparks emotion and memory too. We have all been brought back to teenage angst or student joy by a track. Even if we are expecting to hear it, we can still be surprised by the rising emotions.

When being famous isn’t all it’s cracked up to be

These feelings of yesteryear are no less noticed by the musicians themselves. I often wonder if Amy Winehouse would have had a better handle on her demons if she hadn’t had to keep revisiting them. She was recorded as saying that she didn’t want to sing songs from her album ‘Back to Black’ any more – it was a constant reminder of her heartbreak. Unfortunately, it was far too popular for her fans to move on from.

In interview, even Pink admitted her husband becomes tetchy when she plays her famous song, ‘So What’ – which she wrote during a temporary split from him.

How to stay connected when apart

It isn’t all bad. It works both ways. If you’re not feeling quite yourself, just listen to music that reminds you of better times. You can also use music to form some deep connections with your children, friends and other family members that will last a lifetime.

You need only look to our seniors again to notice how they are brought out of silence and melancholy when played music from their youth.

Music even brings your body back and reminds it of its capabilities of movement.

While the very young can’t mix with the older generation at the moment, here at Edelweiss Pianos we believe that music is the key to keeping everyone connected. And no need to be tech savvy either, just play it down the phone.

You too can get FREE music in your inbox and make memories for the future.