Photo Credit: The Future FM

Music has long been linked to the enhancement of emotions, mood, and performance—tuning artists, athletes, and even business people into better frame of minds and bursts of confidence. Back in 2007, the USA Track & Field association created a ban on the use of headphones and portable audio players at all official races in an effort “to ensure safety and to prevent runners from having a competitive edge.” The rule was amended within a year, as a direct reaction to the recognition that the right music and headphones could greatly increase a runner’s success rate.

Evidence shows that a boost in confidence needed for success can come straight from the buds playing bass in our ears. In fact, a recent study revealed that bass-heavy songs can induce mindsets of authority and power — meaning a great pair of headphones matched with a strong playlist can make for quite a productive Monday.

Today, researchers are finding that electronic dance music— as is the case with most genres that are naturally defined by their heavy bass— can impact a listener’s emotional state. Check out what happens to you when the bass drops:

Mood Enhancement

Listening to music to get your mind off of your troubles isn’t exactly a new concept. In fact, research has found that most people pull on their headphones and turn up the music as a way of resetting their emotions and tuning into their own self-awareness. Turning up the bass on tunes can allow a listener to escape their plateau and reflect on their own interests and pursuits. With bass music generating a feeling of empowerment to a listener, songs with bass can be an important component during these reflection periods. Giving a listener a sense of empowerment, bass can turn these low mood or feelings of self-consciousness into positive ones that seek inspiration.

Mind Stimulation

Think about how likely it is for you to walk into a rave or club and hear the tunes of EDM hits rather than the classical sounds of Beethoven.

Songs with generous bass and high melodic energy can be the most contagious when it comes to getting motivated to move your feet. Music with an emphasis on bass can release “happy neurotransmitters” such as dopamine and oxytocin in the brain putting a listener into a completely different mind frame. These neurotransmitters work to spark a person’s pleasure center and can prompt music listeners to focus the release of their gained energy on physical movement.

Reduction of Stress

The use of music to reduce stress has been well-established and has also been effectively used as a stress management tool. Listening to music can have an immense impact on our states of mind, especially when it is heavily influenced by a bass. The strong pulse of EDM music (a genre whose bass notes radiate with force) can have a beneficial effect on physiological functions as a listener’s heart rate and pulse work to mimic its sounds internally.

Music, specifically the kind that has considerable bass, can trigger the release of biochemical stress reducers and combat a person’s stress levels. Put simply, your body interprets the bass beats as heartbeats, and matches them, similarly to how it matches the heart rate of someone you are near.

Sound Sleep

Whether it’s work-related stress, thoughts that seem to wrestle with others, or simply anticipation for what tomorrow brings, everyone has experienced the inability to get a catch Z’s in bed at some point. Most people find that the cure for such distractions is diverting attention to an unrelated one that can keep their minds off of current concerns.

More so than sheep counting, music has consistently proven itself as a panacea for restless nights.  Research has proven that music can reduce various factors, including stress and anxiety which can interrupt a person’s resting state. Songs with heavy bass stimulate physical change such as lowered heart and can help avert our attention to an abstract focus allowing us to vanquish stressors and avoid Insomnia.

Better Work Out

Exercise is another key to happiness that has long been touted as a method for reducing stress, improving sleep and boosting mood. There’s a reason why gyms amp up the music in Zumba and Spin classes, it pushes exercisers and trainers to charge through a tough workout and complete the course.

Next time you’re looking to change your mood or your energy level, try putting on music that matches before reaching for coffee or intoxicants. It really does work!