Sunday, October 23, 2011

How music changes our brains

Listening to music on command has become second nature to those living in the twenty first century. You can listen to music just about anywhere thanks to Ipods, MP3s, and phones. This ability to listen to music constantly has raised the question in scientists heads, what is the sound of music doing to our brains? Although in some cases music results as being harmful to the brain, researchers have found that music can "help children with learning disabilities, elders feel more connected to the world, and even get people into better shape."(Rogers) Sound can also be very damaging. A recent study states that "sound is the second greatest pollutant in the world today." The volume of the music is the main reason sound can be so damaging, it is proven that sound can reduce the amount of healthy years you live. 45,000 "healthy" years world wide are taken away by sound per yeah. Now that's crazy. 

Every since i got my first Walkman I've been hearing my dad lecturing me about how loud my music is and that by the time I'm twenty ill be deaf. I do admit to the fact that i listen to my music pretty loud, mostly because when i listen to music that's the only thing i wanna hear. I believe that most teenagers listen to their music extremely loud just because its the thing to do, that's how we have always listened to our music. In our games, during a warm-up before games, loud is the best way to listen to music. i do believe that music and how loudly its played effects our brain, but i do not believe its going to cause us to become deaf, that seems a little extreme. 

2 comments:

  1. Interesting how you didn't talk about what type of music you listen to does to you. I believe that will affect who you are much more than sheer decibel output.

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  2. Interesting comment, Jim. I'm sure we could write an entertaining piece on that concept.

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