Using Light To Enhance Your Memory with Dr. Shelley James

Music is the medicine of both mind and soul—and neuroscience agrees. Studies show music can reduce anxiety and depression, lower blood pressure, and even help ease pain.

Bob Marley once said, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

Music also improves sleep, mood, and memory, and enhances many brain functions, such as learning and concentration. Music stimulates not only certain brain areas; it stimulates your entire brain. It’s a total brain workout.

Let’s look at some of the latest findings on how music affects your brain.

Music, Stress & Depression

All studies done on music say that it lowers the stress hormone, cortisol.

One study on patients who were about to undergo surgery found that those who listened to music were less anxious and had lower cortisol levels than the ones who didn’t.

Music releases dopamine, which makes us feel happy. Consistent and higher levels of dopamine improve concentration, lift your mood, and enhance memory and learning capabilities.

Studies also show that listening to music constantly decreases depression and fills people with hope. One study even shows that music can aid in healing brain traumas.

Listening to music with other people releases oxytocin, a hormone that’s responsible for increasing trust and strengthening the social bonds between people.

Music therapy is often a treatment recommended for people with severe depressive symptoms.

Music, Cognition, and Learning Capabilities

Music can make you smarter. 

Studies show that listening to music enhances reading and literacy skills, makes you more reasonable, and increases mathematical abilities. That’s why experts recommended learning to play a musical instrument, especially at a young age.

It’s important to note that the type of music should match the type of task. For example, pop songs are not compatible when building reading comprehension. Choose the best type of music for each mission. Of course, the best music is the one you’ll listen to. Experiment with different genres of music as you work on various tasks and find which style fits you best.

Music & Memory

Studies show that music is great for enhancing long-term memory. One study on the effect of hearing familiar music found that certain brain areas, especially autobiographical and episodic memory and emotion areas, become activated when hearing familiar music or an old song.

Another study focused on mainly older people with weaker memories as test subjects. They concluded that listening to the specific tunes that they used to hear when they were younger improved their memory. It also made them remember certain events linked to the music.

A different study conducted on Alzheimer’s patients showed that music calmed their brain activity. This enabled patients to regain connection with their families and friends.

Conclusion

Listening to music is like exercising your brain. It can help keep your brain engaged throughout your aging process. There are few things that stimulate the whole brain like music does. It is a great way to provide your brain with a total brain workout. As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said: “Without music, life would be a mistake.” So, blast some music and make your life and memory even better.

 For more on how music can help you learn, watch this video:

Are you looking for a simple but effective brain hack for happiness? It all comes down to your smile.

There’s a Chinese Proverb that says, “Use your smile to change the world; don’t let the world change your smile”.

Smiling is powerful. They’re a natural way to express happiness and they invite those around you to share in that emotion. They light up a room and can help others feel at ease. In short, smiles are wonderful things.

But often in life, you may experience times when you don’t feel like smiling. Maybe you’re sad, or angry, or stressed. You’ve likely heard the adage: fake it until you make it. But does that actually help?

It turns out your brain prefers to smile—even if it’s fake. The simple act of smiling has enormous benefits for your brain.

Your Brain on Smiles

When you smile, your mouth sends a signal to your brain. This releases neuropeptides, molecules that lower stress and help neurons communicate. They also trigger the release of the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins—or, the happiness hormones.

• Dopamine gives you an instant boost of energy and motivation.
• Serotonin helps calm you down and soothes your nerves.
• Endorphins reduce cortisol levels and can even decrease feelings of pain. If you’ve ever heard the expression “smiling through the pain”, it’s because smiling can literally help manage your pain.

Together, these brain chemicals work to improve your mood, and help decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Smiling also helps combat the long-term effects of chronic stress. This means reducing things like memory and recall problems, inability to learn, decision fatigue, trouble with problem-solving, and brain fog.

Research out of the University of Kansas found that smiling lowers your heart rate. Another study found that smiling can lower blood pressure. And multiple studies have shown that smiling boosts your immune function, which leads to better health and longevity.

The best part? You can get these incredible benefits even when you force a smile. A small study out of the University of Cardoff, Wales, found that participants who had Botox and couldn’t frown reported feeling happier for extended periods of time after the injections. In fact, after long-term use of Botox, nine of the participants felt such relief, they were able to reduce their medication and, in some cases, stop taking it entirely.

Your brain is hard-wired to associate a smile with happiness. That means a fake smile triggers the same neurochemical reaction as a real one. And because you’ll end up feeling better, odds are, that fake smile becomes real.

Smiles are Contagious

Smiling is not just a cue for your brain, but also for those around you. When someone smiles at you, the neurons in your brain automatically mirror that behavior. It’s instinct to smile back. This does two things:

1) Smiling instantly creates a positive social connection. People relax and stress levels go down for everyone. When you work with a smile, you’re creating a framework of positivity that lets people know you’re easy to work with and be around. This automatically builds trust and camaraderie, which means you’ll end up getting more done.

2) Giving and receiving smiles tells your brain that you are surrounded by friendly people. Your brain seeks social connections because it wants you to survive. To the brain, more friendly people means a better chance of survival. Being smiled at automatically reduces your stress response and puts you in a calmer state.

Conclusion

They say the best things in life are free. A smile costs nothing, yet it can be your shield from a host of health and cognitive issues arising from day-to-day problems. If you are having a bad day, use this brain hack and flash a big smile—even if you don’t feel like it — and see how the day magically transforms. Happy smiling!

‍For more on how body language affects your brain, watch this video:

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