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Music soothes the savage beast, as they like to say, and it seems that science has found other ways that the right soundtrack can affect your mood and improve your brain power. Listen to these tunes if you need a boost in productivity.
WHEN YOU’RE ON A DEADLINE
Listen to: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
Turn a tedious job into a funk-rock odyssey and you’ll get through it quicker. Psychologists at Glasgow Caledonian University found guitarbased rock improves concentration and boosts memory, and rock tracks consume less brain power to complete a test successfully.
WHEN YOU NEED TO PROOF-READ
Listen to: Johann Strauss II – The Blue Danube
Checking the small print? Ensure that you’re in the “classical” menu on your iPod. Subjects in a study by the University of Washington who listened to light classical music for 90 minutes while editing a manuscript increased their accuracy by 21 per cent.
WHEN THE LADY IS NAGGING
Listen to: William Boyce – The Eight Symphonies
If you’re trying to digest an onslaught of instructions, complaints or comments on your recent behaviour, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers found that it helps to listen to 18th-century composer Boyce, whose musical techniques help the brain organise incoming information. Failing that, it may just drown out the noise.
WHEN YOU’RE WARMING DOWN
Listen to: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Sonata for Two Pianos in D major
It may not be a period of intense intellectual activity, but warming down from exercise is a valuable period of reflection on how, say, you must remember to wash your kit tonight. Cool off with Mozart to increase your serenity and mental clarity. Research at the University of Tsukuba in Japan found the composer’s tunes reduce blood pressure and increase the release of dopamine.
WHEN STRESS LEVELS SOAR
Listen to: Devildriver – Pray for Villains
A study of 1,000 of the brightest 5 per cent of young Britons showed heavy metal helps them deal with stress. Stuart Cadwallader, psychologist at the University of Warwick says: “Gifted people use the music to purge negativity.” At last, a reason for intelligent people to listen to this album.
The Nutritional Way To Outrun The Reaper If you want to see your 85th birthday, limit your alcohol to two drinks a day. This may make you less likely to die of cardio-vascular disease. As you savour your pinot, swallow these other stay-young secrets.
I blush a lot. What can I do about it? The problem with blushing is that it’s embarrassing – which will only cause you to blush more. “People stare at you, so naturally it gets...
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Music soothes the savage beast, as they like to say, and it seems that science has found other ways that the right soundtrack can affect your mood and improve your brain power. Listen to these tunes if you need a boost in productivity.
