Five reasons to...

LISTEN TO MUSIC

Music has a range of health benefits

IT HELPS RELIEVE ANXIETY

STUDIES show listening to music can ease stress and even reduce depressive symptoms. Music can be medicine for your mind.

IT CAN BE A MOOD ENHANCER

RESEARCH shows that music can elevate your mood and make you happier overall. Just think of your favourite song.

MUSIC HELPS GIVE YOUR WORKOUT A BOOST

ENERGETIC music enables you to stick with your workout and give you a boost. It may also help you run faster and improve your endurance.

IT CAN HELP YOU SLEEP

A STUDY found that listening to classical music helped ease insomnia in college students. Other research also suggests music can put you in a meditative state.

IT CAN BOOST YOUR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE.

STUDIES show background music can increase cognitive performance on tasks like academic tests. Research also suggests upbeat music can help you do well under pressure.

DOCTOR’S NOTE

DID you know your muscle mass is linked to future heart risk? Cardiovascular disease is less likely in the third of people aged over 45 with the highest muscle volume than in those with the lowest, researchers found.

Those with the highest muscle tissue volume were 81% less likely to have a myocardial infarction or stroke, especially in men, the team reported in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The prevalence of high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity – all risk factors for cardiovascular disease – were all lower among people with the highest muscle volume.