Music is fun and relaxing to listen to. But research shows that it also helps with learning and concentration, ADHD, Parkinson's disease, dementia and epilepsy. When people listen to music, their blood pressure drops. The hormone dopamine is also produced by the brain. Dopamine is a hormone that affects various conditions.

People with ADHD have more dopamine transporters than people without ADHD. This causes the dopamine to be carried away too quickly. People with ADHD suffer from concentration problems due to lack of dopamine.

Music increases the dopamine production, which improves the concentration. The music does not have to be classical music. What is important is that the music is played in the background, so not annoyingly hard. Music of your choice helps you concentrate better.

In patients with Parkinson's disease, a certain area of ??the brain is destroyed (the Substance Nigra). The cells of this area make dopamine. If too many cells die, patients have a serious shortage of dopamine. This makes it harder for the brain to give the muscles good commands, so that patients have movement problems and trembling. Patients often also suffer from memory problems. Because more dopamine is produced by music, these problems are reduced.

There are many forms of dementia. In a specific form, the Lewis-Body Dementia, the cells that produce dopamine die (the cells in the substance nigra). Patients with this form of dementia do not have enough dopamine. Additional dopamine is produced by music, which reduces the symptoms.

In an epileptic seizure, brain cells release too many electrical stimuli at a certain moment. This gives patients an attack. The stimuli of the brain cells arise due to abnormal functioning of dopamine. By listening to music the attacks become less intense. By listening to music more often, the attacks also decrease in the long term.

People also have an effect in people without a dopamine disorder. A study showed that by listening to music for ten minutes, people score 8 to 9 points better on IQ tests. In this research Mozart's music was used, hence the "Mozart effect". The effect does not last long, about 10 minutes.