Aside from your diet, exercise, and sleep, the hobbies you take up can greatly impact your brain health. A new study aims to establish the relationship between the brain and a creative hobby, that can keep the mind sharp in old age.
Watching your brain health is crucial to minimizing the risk of Alzheimer’s – a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. Therefore, taking up creative activities while avoiding common coffee mistakes that hurt your brain will help you have a healthy mind in later life.
Playing a specific instrument protects brain, shows study
A study called PROJECT published by experts at the University of Exeter found that people aged 40 and over, who have played a musical instrument throughout their lives, have better brain health when aged.
More than 25,000 participants are included in the study running for 10 years. The researchers analyzed the respondents’ musical experience and exposure to specific instruments to determine whether they impacted the brain in the later stage of life.
The results linked playing musical instruments consistently, specifically piano, to “improved memory and the ability to solve complex tasks – known as executive function.” Continuing to play it in later life is believed to be more beneficial.
Anne Corbett, Professor of Dementia Research at the University of Exeter said: Our PROTECT study has given us a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between cognitive performance and music in a large cohort of older adults. Overall, we think that being musical could be a way of harnessing the brain’s agility and resilience, known as cognitive reserve.”
The study aims to spread more awareness about musical education as a part of public health initiatives, treating it as a “protective lifestyle for brain health, as would encouraging older adults to return to music in later life.”
Morning songs to kick-start your day
The relationship between music and mental health is long-established. In fact, there’s a list of morning songs to boost your mood throughout the day.
A study by a furniture retailer revealed the top 30 songs to wake up to, based on the data obtained on Spotify.
British pop star Harry Styles made it more than once on the list thanks to his compositions, which an expert thinks are a “combination of catchy melodies, rhythmic variety, and tone brightness, all of which can work as auditory caffeine.”
Here are all the 10 most popular morning songs:
- Put Your Records On – Corinne Bailey Rae
- Here Comes The Sun (Remastered 2009) – The Beatles
- Dreams (2004 Remaster) – Fleetwood Mac
- Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) – Elton John, Dua Lipa, PNAU
- ily (i love you baby) – Surf Mesa ft. Emilee
- Banana Pancakes – Jack Johnson
- As It Was – Harry Styles
- Flowers – Miley Cyrus
- Sunrise – Norah Jones
- I Ain’t Worried – OneRepublic
