After a long day at work you and your partner are at home hanging out on the couch. You’re surfing the web and she’s flipping through a magazine when Balam Pichkari comes on. Oh yes, it's your song, and though you´re both tired, it’s pretty much guaranteed there’s one place it’ll lead you: to the bedroom.
Listening to music with a partner can be a major turn-on. But that’s not the only effect it has on romantic relationships, according to the findings of the global study, which was conducted with the help of neuroscientist Dr Daniel Levitin, an expert on the effects of music on the brain.
Exciting, rhythmic, romantic...
In the first part of the study, 30,000 people were surveyed about the impact of music on their lives. Then, sound systems were installed in 30 homes around the world. After one week without music, the participants in those homes were instructed to listen to whatever they wanted for a week. How would a week filled with music impact their lives?
They’d have a lot more sex, for one. Couples in the experiment spent 37 per cent more time in the bedroom – and they weren’t sleeping. This is backed up by the survey, which found that couples have sex 67 per cent more often when there’s music on.
Listening to music with their sweetheart actually makes sex better for one in five people, the surveys also revealed. Most say that’s because sex is more exciting with music or find it’s the rhythmic effect that makes it so good. About the same per cent of people say romantic moments are sweeter when there’s music playing.
Turn-on song
The study also backed up what a lot of people know: music can work wonders when it comes to setting the mood for love. One out of five people who listen to tunes out loud say that just hearing a song is enough for them to make the first move, the survey showed. About the same number have said “I love you” after hearing a song. What’s more, just over 65 per cent of music enthusiasts (those who listened to 10 or more hours per week in the study) can name the song that turns their partner on.
Not surprisingly, the music a potential partner listens to can be a turn-on … or a deal-breaker. Almost 60 per cent of people say having a good taste in music makes someone more attractive. And one in three people actually wouldn’t date someone who didn’t share their tastes in music. That could be the reason 28 per cent of people are pretty sure their partner’s lied about the kind of music they’re into to seem more attractive.
So how does it work?
By now you’re probably wondering why music has such a big effect on sex, romance, and attraction. Dr Levitin explains that when couples listen to music together the hormone oxytocin is released. Also known as the “love hormone”, oxytocin is involved in bonding and trust between partners. Serotonin, which is linked to feeling happy, is another hormone that´s released when people listen to music in each other’s company.
All these feelings of love and happiness are connected to the music they’re playing.
According to Dr Levitin, making music was a way for our ancestors to express their creativity and individuality, all of which would make them more attractive as potential partners. Fast forward to today and that might help explain why we’re attracted to someone whose taste in music we dig.
Source: musicmakesithome.com
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