Music plus exercise is good for your brain

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 26 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Apparently, music is good for your brain, it is supposed to make you smarter. Exercise is supposed to help brain function. So, logically, thought some researchers, music plus exercise must be good for your brain. And so it seems to be.

The researchers got some volunteers and made them run on a treadmill while listening to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. They were then given a test on verbal ability. The same procedure was carried out again, on another day, but this time without the music. Their results showed that the volunteers performed better after they had done their running with the music.

This research was carried out by a team at Ohio State University.

Team leader, Psychologist, Charles Emery said "Evidence suggests that exercise improves the cognitive performance of people with coronary artery disease. And listening to music is thought to enhance brainpower. We wanted to put the two results together."

You can read about this study in the journal Heart & Lung.

The team examined 33 people (men and women). These people were taking part in a cardiac rehabilitation program. They had had bypass surgery, angioplasty or some other treatment to deal with clogged arteries.

The volunteers themselves said the exercise made them feel better, regardless of the music. They felt better physically and emotionally. However, their scores on the verbal test were twice as high after the music with exercise than after just the exercise without music.

Emery said "Exercise seems to cause positive changes in the nervous system, and these changes may have a direct effect on cognitive ability. Listening to music may influence cognitive function through different pathways in the brain. The combination of music and exercise may stimulate and increase cognitive arousal while helping to organize cognitive output."

Emery said the next step in his research will be to test people after they have had the music they chose themselves.

He said "We used 'The Four Seasons' because of its moderate tempo and positive effects on medical patients in previous research. But given the range of music preferences among patients, it's especially important to evaluate the influence of other types of music on cognitive outcomes."

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