Somewhere, somehow, we all know that sound affects us. For example, sad music can make you feel sad. Loud noises can scare you. However, there are a lot more ways that noises affect us. And quite some of these are (reasonably) unknown to us.

Phone calls, stress, and smiles…

So let us show you through three ways that sound affects (nearly) all of us, even though we quite often don’t realize it. Man, our brain, body, and soul work in cool ways, right? And quite often in very recognizable ways too.

Happy/sad music affects our responses

We are all quite ready to admit that happy and/or sad music has an effect on us. Did you realize that our brain actually reacts differently to happy or sad music and this affects us in our daily lives? This study had people listen to happy and sad music and found that after that, the subjects would rate a neutral face as happy or sad, to match the music they listened. So the next time that you think someone is happy, just stop and think if it isn’t you that is happy…

Loud noises, exercise and stress

Quite some people say they love to work with the music turned all the way up. They say that it helps them focus and increases productivity. However, research shows that loud noises (and so music) do the opposite. Loud noises incite stress, as they trigger our fight or flight response. They are a way of letting us know that something loud (and possibly dangerous) is near. Try relaxing, working and being productive with that response going on. Nah!

The same goes for exercise. Loud noises stimulate us to be in the fight or flight modus, to be focussed and energetic. That is why pumping some extra beats during exercising can help you go that extra mile and burn off that extra bit of calories.

One-sided phone calls versus normal conversations

Have you ever noticed that someone talking to someone else on the telephone is very annoying? That it is hard to shut yourself off from it. Whilst, when people are having a conversation next to you, that is way easier. We have! Now, other surveys have shown that you also have, as up to 82% of people find overhearing cellphone conversations annoying.

But why? A cognitive psychologist thinks that the unpredictability of the one-sided conversation is the reason. It grabs our attention more and annoys us that we can’t hear what the response is, meaning we have to find it out ourselves. With a normal conversation, that is not an issue.

Do you have any other funny, interesting ways that sounds affect us to share that a lot of people aren’t aware of? Please let us know!