Music and sports performance.

Scientific studies confirm that music has positive effects on our body.
While it is recognized that soothes the savage, the music would be many other virtues. Some music and sounds have a relaxing power regenerator and can help concentration, improving performance and physical abilities. Music, distracting the athlete can do to forget the fatigue and pain.
Always recognized for its therapeutic effects, considered by some cultures as a sacred science, music conceals mysteries that scientists have been trying for years to reveal through multiple studies.
It is the Chinese who were pioneers in the field from the 5th century BC to discover that each internal organ of our body vibrates at a rhythm of its own and therefore it is sensitive to the same frequency sounds. So the music affects our whole body and not just on our auditory system.
In the twentieth century, in the sixties, a new therapy appeared in the United States and Canada: music therapy. Music therapy uses music and its characteristics (melody, rhythm, harmony, sound) to communicate with a person and act beneficially on the mental, physical and emotional health.
Experiments around the world confirm that music acts favorably on our body. In sports especially, music can improve performance, increase physical capacity, help to better bear the pain.
Music and sports performance
Several scientific studies show that music can have a positive impact on performance. Music reduces unpleasant feelings that result from physical activity, it increases exercise tolerance, it helps concentration and mental preparation.
This is particularly interesting in anaerobic endurance sports where this music considerable positive effects in the average level of the athlete. This effect is less visible in against the top athlete.
In a study conducted at Brunel University in England on 20 men 20 years running the 400 meters sprint (The effects of music on synchronous 400-m sprint performance, D. Stuart Simpson, I. Costas Karageorghis 2006 ), researchers have demonstrated the beneficial effect of music on the performance of the riders. The results are much the same as the music is synchronized, ie repetitive and at the same pace as the effort or not (in this case, the sports listening background music during exercise without special effort to stay in the rhythm).
In the context of long-term efforts, other studies support the same assumption that music improves performance. The pace seems to be a more critical factor than other components of music, such as knowing the present program. Karageorghis et al motivating music characterized as having a high tempo (120 beats per minute at least), a strong rhythm and encourages moving.
Slow music improves endurance capacity
Copland and Franks, two Americans researchers, in a study conducted in 1991 (The effects of kinds and intensities of background music on treadmill endurance, Copland, Frank, 1991), reinforcing the hypothesis that soft, slow music reduces arousal physiological and psychological appearing during submaximal power efforts (ie close to the anaerobic threshold) and improves endurance performance.
In another test by Anshel and Marisi Americans (1978) on ergonomic bicycle, synchronized music would allow for more endurance than non-synchronized music. These results should be taken with caution insofar as the musical preferences of those tested were not taken into account.
Fast music makes you forget fatigue and increases physical ability
A study by Nottingham Trent University in England (The effects of SLOW- fast rhythm and classical music is progressive cycling to voluntary exhaustion, A. Szabo, A. Small, Leigh, 1999) shows the positive effects of fast music on the sport. During an intensive effort, the athlete is able to provide more effort if listening to fast music.
The experiment was conducted on 24 candidates, men and women, subjected to a stress test on ergonomic bicycle in sessions with slow music (ML), fast music (MR), a change fast slow music (MLR) and fast to slow (MRL). In the last two conditions, the musical rhythm is changed when participants reach 70% of their heart rate reserve. Applicants must provide a working increasingly consequently to exhaustion. The results show a significantly higher capacity workload term in the MLR requirements and improved effectiveness of this work (the athlete is able to provide more work for the same heart rate).
The researchers speculate that fast music distracts from the fatigue caused by exercise. More sportsman is "distracted" by the music, he will feel less fatigue and more it will be able to supply efforts.
Less stress in music
The music, by acting on the nervous system, helps to relax and reduce stress. Indeed it lowers cortisol, a steroid hormone secreted by the cortex of the adrenal gland, responsible among other stress.
According to his research, the researcher English Karageorghis advance that music improves mood (joy, force, for example) and tempers bad mood (tension, depression, nervousness, for example).
Take advantage of all opportunities relaxing to listen to your favorite tracks: Shower, transportation, breaks, before going to sleep at night.
Music therapy
The therapeutic properties of music are recognized for centuries. Music therapy is used as a communication tool to cure many ailments. Music helps to improve mood, reduce stress, anxiety, relieve pain, cure insomnia. The list is long and not exhaustive.
Music helps reduce pain
Relaxing music releases endorphins, substances painkiller role secreted by the brain and have analgesic, sedative and euphoric.
Furthermore, an exciting and pleasant music distracts and defocuses it pain.
Music and concentration
Music stimulates creativity and improves cognitive skills (attention, memory). By barrier surrounding noise, it can promote concentration. However, attention to musical choice known songs can induce hum the melody, the rhythm and beat and divert attention.
For athletes, music can be an effective aid for mental preparation that precedes a trial.

Read more

Music, an effective weapon against youth depression

Music, antidepressant for young people? Even more than you think! A team from Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland has shown that music therapy treatment added to antidepressant treatment significantly improves depressive symptoms compared to a single treatment in children and adolescents aged 8-16 years. This effect has already been observed in some patients but no evidence scientifically valid not dispositive on the real benefit of this therapeutic approach in this population. That's done with this new study to evaluate the effect of music therapy in 251 children aged 8 to 16 years with severe mental disorders such emotional, behavioral and / or social, a third had a depression.
In practice, these young people had to continue their current treatment whatsoever, but half of them, chosen at random, in addition to participating in a music therapy program facilitated by an expert: free improvisation individual workshops thirty minutes weekly for twelve weeks. Professional playing or doing play by the child's wishes and had several instruments. The authors used several rating scales to test the quality and quantity of oral and social exchanges, self-esteem, depression or family functioning before and after the program and three months after.

A program based on communication and creativity

At the end of twelve weeks, the researchers found a significant reduction in depressive symptoms in children who have taken the music program. They also noted a marked improvement in self-esteem in this group in general, as well as significant progress in oral communication, especially for 13-16 years. "This is the first study provides robust results. In addition, the three-month follow-up, still in progress, seems to show that these improvements are maintained over time. They are certainly related to the choice of program based on trade, communication and creativity, explained Professor Sam Porter, responsible for the work at Queen's University of Belfast and its associated Dr Valerie Holmes. The idea is not to replace the treatments but to offer a complementary therapeutic approach for these children whose care is difficult, sometimes with random results. And long-term follow-up will tell if it reduces antidepressant doses. "

It is impossible at this stage to explain why music produced these effects. "What we know is that music is a vector that brain plasticity induced rearrangements between very large neural networks, including new connections. This benefits many areas near these networks: the fact of playing the piano, for example, can improve motor skills in people with a brain injury, singing or musical creation can facilitate language in aphasic individuals, shows Emmanuel Bigand, professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Burgundy (Dijon) and member of the Institut Universitaire de France. We also know that music promotes the release of dopamine and therefore is likely to alter brain chemistry with perhaps prolonged effects in a few days or weeks. "But not yet clear whether these mechanisms can reduce depressive symptoms. Also note that it is not enough to listen to music to heal. "The benefits are observed according to particular patterns of music therapy and music styles to suit disorder and targets," he recalls.

In France, between 2-3% of children and 14% of teenagers suffer from depression.

Read more

The Importance of Music during Pregnancy

Beyond the use of music in the labor room, music therapy really comes in preparation for birth. It stimulates the auditory perception of the child, calm pain and stress in the mother, enables a unique and privileged communication between mother and child. At first, in the seventh week of pregnancy, the fetus can perceive the vibration sounds even before the formation of the auditory system, thanks to the bones of his skull mom's pelvis using resonator. Then, throughout pregnancy, high frequencies are filtered by the muscles and the liquid, and only the low frequencies are vibrating against the tactile corpuscles of the mouth and hands of the baby, as a string to which would boost slow and strong corrugations. Reinforced by the uterine body resonance, they caress her mouth. The emotion is so strong that his heart speeds up, it stretches, turns his head, thumb sucking or frolics.
In addition, the fetus responds not only to the stimuli that come from the outside, but also, hormonally, to the emotions of his mother.
So after the birth, the child is able to recognize a piece of music or a voice which will have been familiar during pregnancy. At his hearing, he calms or manifest an interest. Moreover, the very low frequency sounds to facilitate the child's sleep in the months following birth. The experiment was done in hospitals resulting in a good percentage of sleep toddler.
The benefit of the mother
Within the mother, the regular issuance of such sounds helps maintain a longer expiratory breath and easier than ordinary breathing, which develops respiratory capacity and oxygenation capitals at the time of delivery. Producing bass sounds can decrease the duration of the "work" of two to four hours: the uterus, better oxygenated, it disabled. The woman is relaxed, the opening of the cervix is accelerated. In addition, the expiration restrained at the time of expulsion allows better control of pain and can avoid the use of episiotomy.

Read more