Music, the Brain, and Exercise

"It's no secret that exercise improves mood, but new research suggests that working out to music may give exercisers a cognitive boost.Listening to music while exercising helped to increase scores on a verbal fluency test among cardiac rehabilitation patients." Thus says a study from 2004 as cited in Science Daily. "This is the first study to look at the combined effects of music and short-term exercise on mental performance," said Charles Emery, the study's lead author and a professor of psychology at Ohio State University.

Do you listen to music while you exercise? It seems to me that most everyone at the gym has their ipod on or headphones of some kind or another. Now we have another motivation to listen to our favorite music while exercising. What kind of music do you listen to when exercising?

Neurochemicals at work in Carnegie Hall

I've spent the past week in NYC doing two major musical activities. On Tuesday night I heard my youngest sister conduct her orchestra in Carnegie Hall. It was a true peak experience and the positive neurochemicals such as serotonin and dopamine were surely flowing in abundance! My mother and another sister were there and we were just thrilled to see her conduct just likee pros! It was sooo awesome!

On Thursday morning, I spoke at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn. My topic was "The Importance of Music with Pregnancy, Preemies, and Newborns." The presentation was well-received and I thoroughly enjoyed giving it to the doctors and nurses there! We talked about the effect of music on the devleoping infant's brain and how very important it is to have high quality music for a pregnant Mom!

Questions anyone?