How a Loving Playlist Could Boost Your Bond
“There’s a certain feeling of giving, a certain feeling of generosity in love songs. When you sing a song of love, you’re actually giving to yourself, too.” – Jason Mraz
With wedding season sweeping in soon, we can’t help but get in our feelings a little bit, and what better way to do that than with a Spotify playlist? Have you noticed there is a playlist out there for every mood? It makes sense, considering there’s a song to match literally any feeling we’ve experienced in our lives. Music is a powerful force in our world, so much so that even the scientists are intrigued. Neuroscientists have been studying the ways that music can impact our brains for decades, but the most recent research is fascinating when it comes to the connection music can have to our personal relationships.
According to a study by McGill University, music can intensify feelings of love, or gives us feelings of, as Rihanna would put it, “love on the brain.” The study states that listening to music releases dopamine, otherwise known as the “feel good chemical,” in our brain. It’s the same chemical that is released when we eat a delectable meal or sleep our full eight hours. According to the science, a good song can have a similar effect on us as a delicious french toast breakfast in bed.
Even further, if you sing the music you love out loud, it fosters feelings of love and affection, as the act of singing releases oxytocin, otherwise known as the “cuddle hormone.” Not only will you want to snuggle up with bae, your neurological response to seeing them can be positively influenced by listening to happy songs around them. In a published study by the University of Groningen, it was found that music can even impact the way you view your partner. If you listen to happy songs around them, your brain will start to associate the features of their face with the same feelings of happiness that music gives you. For example, if you make playlists with your favorite songs for your road trips together, or even just for dancing around in the kitchen while making a meal together, it can start to positively elevate the feelings you get when your brain detects your lover’s face.
We’ve put together a Spotify playlist of some of the sweetest love songs we could think of, so snuggle up with your sweetheart with a glass of wine, or dance around the kitchen and sing your little hearts out to these romantic jams. It’s good for your brain, and good for your bond.
“And suddenly, all the love songs were about you.”- Unknown
