This Appy Friday is all about MUSIC! Music can elevate your mood, push you to work out harder, calm you at the end of the day, or help you tune out your stress. With the evolution of smart phones, listening to music is easier than ever, and statistics are showing Canadians are taking full advantage of this convenience. 93% of Canadians listen to music in some way.

It doesn’t matter which app you use to dial up the tunes (and there’s really SO many to choose from: TuneIn Radio, Apple Music, Google Music, Spotify, and Accuradio to name a few). Not to mention, several radio stations have jumped on the online bandwagon and offer streaming service for their stations too.

Let’s get the good times rolling with some random music facts!

• The chills you get when you listen to music is mostly caused by the brain releasing dopamine while anticipating the peak moment of a song.
• There are few activities in life that utilizes the entire brain, and music is one of them.
• Playing music regularly will physically alter your brain structure (basically it helps keep your brain youthful so you can still learn new things, even later in life!)
• The brain responds to music the same way it responds to something you eat.
• Listening to music while exercising can significantly improve your workout performance.
• An emotional attachment could be the reason for your favourite song choice.
• Your heartbeat changes to mimic the music you listen to.
• Listening to happy vs. sad music can affect the way you perceive the world around you. (Happy songs that lift your spirits make you see the world more optimistically than that of a sad person)
• Music is often prescribed to patients with Parkinson’s Disease and stroke victims.
• According to a study, learning a musical instrument can improve fine motor and reasoning skills.
• Listening can make you smarter! Putting some tunes on while you study can potentially improve your grades. Studies show that listening to classical music while hitting the books has been linked to a 12% increase in math test scores.
• Music helps reduce stress. It lowers cortisol levels resulting in less anxiety.
• Music may help you lose weight! Researchers have shown that listening to relaxing music while eating out at a restaurant resulted in diners consuming 175 fewer calories.

And for a final random factoid about music… the most listened to song in history is… *drum roll* … “It’s a Small World”!

This Appy Friday, crank up some tunes… and make it a regular part of your routine!

 

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay