Music is such an integral part of life; you hear music in the background at stores, while using public transportation, visiting the dentist, it is practically everywhere you go.
It was Friedrich Nietzche who said that a life without music is a mistake. And now science proves that to be the case. Music affects many areas of the brain. When you listen to music it is processed throughout multiple parts of the brain.
The hippocampus is the memory area of the brain for music. It links music to musical experiences and the memories that you have associated with music. The cerebellum is the area of the brain that is associated with movement, like dancing to music, and it is also the area of the brain responsible for emotional reactions to music, particularly when music is linked to memories or given as a gift.
The nucleus accumbens is the area of the brain responsible for an emotional reaction to music. It works in conjunction with the amygdala which is also the area where emotional reactions to music take place. The prefrontal cortex is the area of the brain that is satisfied when listening to music, especially when music meets expectations. The human brain responds differently to sad music versus happy music. After hearing even a short piece of music, people are more likely to interpret neutral facial expressions as either happy or sad, depending on what type of music they heard. This means that giving a meaningful gift of positive music can actually change the listener’s mood and help them to view the world as more positive.
There are actually two types of emotions which are related to music. There are emotions which are perceived and emotions which are felt. This means that people can understand the emotions of music without actually feeling those emotions and they can actually feel the emotions vicariously that the artist is trying to portray. The brain is able to tell that there is no danger or threat to actually feeling emotions deeply which stem from music, and as such, it allows the mind and body to vicariously perceive the emotions.
By picking the best travel mix, you can enjoy music that evokes all of your favorite emotions during your travel.