How Radio Affects Your Day
The psychological benefits of music have yet to be fully known, yet it is interesting to consider how music and productivity correlate. It is estimated that we listen to around 18 hours of tunes on a weekly basis, but music affects more than just our minds. Music continues to be one of our best ways of escape.
Morning and afternoon commutes are the main way of being alone with ourselves. Once the car starts, usually followed by the radio, your daily outlook is formed relatively quickly by noise and whether we’re ready or not, our mood is affected as well.
We are used to the instant gratification of a strong signal/sound, but once that signal is disrupted, do we turn the volume off, change stations or keep listening?
While brief moments of white noise can be relaxing, what if you decided to change the station, and briefly focus on genre(s) and content you’re unfamiliar with?
During the next commercial break on your favorite station, press the “seek” button and hear where it takes you.
Even though you may be tempted to skip the song again, consider how the content you are listening to now has had a tremendous impact on someone else’s life.
Your colleagues’ tastes are either similar to or much different from your own, and whoever is in charge of selecting the office music usually sets the overall ambience for the workday. Sometimes that ambience can be filled with different moods, energy and volume levels all courtesy of the musical selection.
Branching out your personal preferences when you have the chance can invite many unintended benefits to both yourself and those around you.
Certain stations can couple together while others seem like complete opposites.
For example, you may prefer NPR but while switching land on a gospel channel. Both often discuss relevant concerns and events, along with insight on what can be done to move forward.
Country and rock music have increasingly become intermeshed, still with their polar opposites usually being hip-hop and pop, though they each tend to tell strong, empowering, and even emotional ballads.
If you’re a music lover and, like me, will listen to just about anything, try classical for a few moments. Taking the time to appreciate music from earlier times and styles is said to offer intellectual advantages.
If you can find a way to agree with your radio and its endless options, it can be both educational and motivating in its own right, but it goes without saying that it carries a wide range of psychological results. These can include being forgiving, fearful/less, somber, longing, among several others. Each element of a song makes a significant difference, so make sure you choose stations that give you the perspective you know you need. Bonus if you sing along!
Written by blog contributor, Amber Chisholm
