As most readers already know, music transcends art and entertainment becoming a powerful tool for motivation and creativity. Listening to music can have a huge impact on our productivity levels, the quality of our output, and our performance.

Extensive research has been conducted over the last decade that discovered the many benefits of listening to music in certain situations, such as while working, studying, or competing in sporting events.

If you’re looking for a way to gain a competitive edge, whether that’s in the office or at the gym, read on to discover how music can help you achieve this.

Music gets you in The Zone

Colloquially known as The Zone, the Flow state is a positive mental state of altered awareness. Have you ever performed an activity where you’re completely immersed in what you’re doing, fully energized and focused, and enjoying every moment? That’s the flow state, everything is functioning on a happy autopilot with very little conscious effort.

Music can be a powerful catalyst for getting in the flow, ensuring a completely stimulating experience that enhances performance. Some athletes, for example, talk about listening to certain songs or pieces of music to assist them with getting in the zone before an event, game, or match. Energizing motivational vibes are recommended here.

Music triggers good emotions

It’s very much human nature to associate music with positive memories and experiences (and negative ones too, but we won’t be talking about them today) and many studies have been conducted that link music with positive emotions.

Music that evokes good memories and a positive emotional response boosts internal motivation, which is crucial in sticking with a gym program or meeting urgent work deadlines.

Taking this concept further, a research team at the Georgia Southern University discovered that the power of music also extends to transforming states of mind from negative to positive.

During the study, the research team found that certain songs and pieces of music could divert attention away from negative feelings in participants (like fatigue and boredom), lowered their feelings of anger and depression, and stimulated enhanced performances when carrying out tasks and activities.

Musical inspiration

Often, the music that you already know and love, and associate with positive experiences, will be the best music to listen to when you want to nail your performance. If you’re looking for some inspiration for your playlists, however, check out the following top tracks:

Motorhead – Ace of Spades

Lemmy, Eddie, and Phil’s homage to Texas Poker is filled with gaming references, making it a top choice with pro poker players. It doesn’t just come in handy when you want to up your game on the felt, however, as its intense, driving rhythm will get you instantly focused no matter what you’re doing.

Beyonce – Run the World (Girls)

Not just for girls, Beyonce’s 2011 feminist anthem is a modern-day classic, inspiring choreographers, performers, and athletes for almost a decade. An ultimate hype song, if you want to get yourself focused and pumped up for a challenging situation, make sure you blast this one as loud as possible.

David Bowie – Heroes

We could fill article after article with suggestions of David Bowie songs to listen to, but Heroes is one of his most uplifting and optimistic. Legend has it that it even played a part in the fall of the Berlin Wall after Bowie performed at the Reichstag in 1987. If you want to feel like you too could be a hero, just for one day, this is the song for you.

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Who doesn’t want to go party with friends? Especially on the weekends. After a long week of work and college, everyone just needs that break. However, the reality is that when the time comes to go out, we become too lazy to get up and get ready. All we want to do is lie on the couch, watch TV, and eat popcorn. That is due to low energy levels.

In this fast-paced world, we have to keep with our surroundings. The workload is too much, so it is the school work. Our busy routine sucks the energy out of us, which ends up leaving us exhausted. Hence, we do not feel like going out at all. Devastating, isn’t it? Work, work, work, and when it comes time for fun, we have depleted all our energy by then. Not only is it annoying, but it can also be very stressful as bonding with your friends or going out for the night can be a very therapeutic experience. Therefore, keep reading and pay attention because, in this article, we are going to discuss a few simple but effective methods of increasing your energy.

Take a power nap

A 20 to 30-minute power nap can be very efficient in helping you get your energy back, and meanwhile, also decreases your cholesterol levels. However, be careful about napping for more than 40 minutes, as it can reverse the effects and make you more tired than you were before. Napping helps you relax and become more energized.

Eat a Balanced Meal

Eating a well-balanced diet will ensure that you have sufficient energy to get you moving throughout the day and well into your night. For example, foods filled with nutrients such as nuts, berries, salmon, avocados, eggs, brown rice, and bananas are great for providing you with that extra boost of energy that you need throughout the day.

Moreover, try eating foods that are rich in fiber as it helps your body increase its energy levels. How you may ask, well, foods that are rich in fiber help increase your metabolic rate, and a better metabolism results in more energy. Also, try refraining from skipping meals. You could also eat healthy snacks throughout the day to maintain your energy levels.

Have a proper sleeping schedule

The most important thing that you need to remember is that the quality of sleep you are getting matters more than the quantity. Thus, try aiming for a more relaxed sleep than a long disturbed one.

First and foremost, try to get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. Without proper sleep, you’ll be more tired and drained throughout the day. Secondly, make a habit of sleeping and waking up at the same time every day. Make sure you’re sleeping in a cool and dark space as it is a fact that humans sleep better in dark, chilly areas.

Furthermore, refrain from watching television in bed or using any type of screens such as your cell phone, tablet, laptop, etc. Also, avoid consuming a lot of liquids before going to bed and refrain from having large meals before sleeping. Lastly, a lack of sleep can cause individuals to have dark circles underneath their eyes. Thus, refrain from missing sleep.

If it is hard for you to fall asleep or feel tired the next day, and you just want to relax, try indulging in CBD pre rolls. It can help you in getting a night of better sleep. CBD Juul Pods are also available for those who prefer juuls.

Energy Boosting Supplements

It is common for us to grab an energy drink or a soda or any drink to boost energy when we feel our energy levels depleting. We don’t know that most energy drinks contain caffeine, which gives us a boost of energy in the beginning; however, it later results in even lesser energy and increased anxiety. Thus, the drained energy levels. Therefore, you need to invest in natural and healthy energy-boosting supplements that have zero chance of side effects. Here are a few examples:

● Ashwagandha
● Rhodiola Rosea
● CoQ10
● Vitamin B12
● Iron
● Creatine
● Citrulline
● Beetroot Powder
● Melatonin
● Tyrosine
● Caffeine With L-Theanine

Exercise Regularly

A regular exercise routine can help provide you with a high level of energy. Exercise helps release endorphins, which are proven to naturally improve energy levels. It also guarantees you a night of better and deeper sleep at night. Try to perform moderate-intensity exercises at least 2 hours each week. Seek out a training partner; it helps you create a routine. You could also get a personal trainer; however, that tends to be a bit more expensive.

Reduce Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol destroys your body’s natural balance and provides you with a poorer quality of sleep, especially if you get dehydrated. However, people think that alcohol helps you go to sleep. The truth differs. Alcohol-induced sleep is very disturbed. Try avoiding alcohol; however, when you do drink, drink moderately. Try opting for a lot of alcohol-free days.

Learn to relax

Adjust some free time for yourself from your busy schedule to let go, unwind and essentially, relax. Meditation, gentle stretching, and deep breathing are great methods that could help you wind down.

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Lip syncing is incredibly popular, you just have to look at the success of TikTok to see the evidence. Today you can try LipSync by YouTube in order to find out how well you can do it. Google’s artificial intelligence technology Tensorflow.js is behind this interesting challenge.

LipSync by YouTube will use your device’s camera to detect landmarks on your face. You’re then encouraged to sing along to the popular hit “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I, ending with an assessment of how accurate you were. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the song. You can play it as many times as you like to familiarise yourself. Google promises all facial data and processing remain on your own machine.

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When you’re satisfied you’ve done your best, download your attempt as a GIF before sharing your score with others. Of course, you can challenge your friends and family to do better. I just hope in the near future they include more than just one song. Best of all, if you like this AI-powered challenge you can donate to the ALS  research to help find a cure to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

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Walking is the best possible exercise to boost your musical creativity. If you’re a singer, producer, or songwriter you should habituate yourself to walk very far. Researchers have traced numerous connections between walking and generating ideas. A Stanford University study found that participants were 81% more creative when walking as opposed to sitting. According to the study, walking outside versus on a treadmill produces the most novel and highest-quality analogies in participants who walked and then sat down to do creative work.

The movement aspect of walking is obviously key. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “exercise your creativity,” which refers to the brain as a muscle. Our creative mindset is triggered by physical movement, which is exactly why walking with your dog, a friend, or alone feeds creative thinking, especially in the musical field.

© [Gang Zhou] /iStock

But the scenery is almost as important as the sweat. The National Human Activity Pattern survey reveals that Americans spend 87% of their time indoors. Being inside, you’re more prone to stagnation, the antithesis of energy. Without energy, you can’t create new songs or write unique lyrics. Disrupting your routine with a walk can be a catalyst for garnering fresh insights into problems or projects.

Just by going outside, you are stepping out of your habitual surroundings and your comfort zone, which is necessary if you want to open your mind to original ideas for your music projects. You can walk through a tree-filled neighborhood. You can walk through a park and observe people sauntering or birds singing. Even when you walk down a busy street, you can’t help but get distracted by the sweet cinnamon smells wafting from a food cart.

© [Gang Zhou] /iStock

Our brains work harder to process in different environments, so walking outside fosters our ability to glean fresh ideas, to take in new sights, sounds, smells, and flavors. Shinrin-yoku is a common form of relaxation and medicine in Japan. It was developed in 1982, and recent studies demonstrate that being in the forest and walking among the trees lowers your stress levels. The effects are so powerful that shinrin-yoku is now a government-endorsed policy over there. But you don’t have to live near a forest to receive the psychological benefits.

Research has shown that immersion in nature, and the corresponding disconnection from multimedia and technology, increased performance on a creative problem-solving task by a full 50% in a group of hikers.

So instead of setting a fitness goal, why not set a creativity goal that starts with walking? Engage more closely with your surroundings for the next four weeks. Turn off your phone and give yourself the chance to be present in the world, to hear conversations and natural sounds, to notice the way people move, the way the sun reflects in a puddle. Walk not just for exercise.

Are you still sitting there reading this? Get walking now!