How Have Podcasts Profited Psychological Well-Being?

Podcasts are like houseplants for your mind; you don’t have to have them (and neither do we, but they’re nice to have) and they provide aesthetic value and cognitive benefits to your space.

Podcasts have seen an increase in listeners over the past year, much like the current fad for all things botanical. The majority of Americans (41%) believe they are listening to more podcasts currently compared to a year ago, per new data from Edison Research. Without denying any of the digitization benefits, podcasts are a child-brain of digital media too. But what are the real advantages of podcasts or are they just a medium of passing your time on social media? As per our research, we have compiled positive cognitions of podcasts to turn you into a podcast fan too.

Anxiety/Stress-Reliever

Relaxing music has been shown to stimulate oxytocin production in the brain. Oxytocin also called the “love hormone,” is a neurotransmitter in your nervous system that has a calming and trusting influence on your emotions.

A recent study out of the University of Valencia in Spain found that even with a brief guided mindful meditation, the oxytocin levels can rise, decreasing your stress and anxiety levels. If you’re having trouble winding down after a long day, try listening to a meditation or binaural beats audio while you unwind at home.

Improvised Attention Span

Scary situations are invigorating. Some dislike fear. Others find a good scare intoxicating. That’s why so many of us visit haunted homes during Halloween, watch thrillers on Netflix, and listen to murder mysteries podcasts on Spotify.

Adrenaline is indeed a stress-inducing hormone generated by a fight or flight situation, in this case, the story’s tension. Adrenaline stimulates and alerts the brain.

Dopamine Booster

When you’re feeling down, listen to a humorous podcast. When you hear a joke, your frontal lobe evaluates it. If the lobe finds the joke hilarious, it sends electrical signals pulse to the cerebral cortex, causing a giggle or belly laugh.

Laughter spreads quickly. Consider a funny movie or 90s TV show with background laughter. A 2017 study found that laughing with people releases endorphins. This ‘feel good’ molecule stimulates your nervous system like opioids (without the detrimental effects), causing euphoria. It decreases cortisol levels, making it great for “those days.”

Developing The Cloud Of Imagination

Audio-only podcasts rely solely on sound. Creativity on the part of the listener is required. Narrative stories, such as podcasts and audiobooks, encourage listeners to visualize the plot and characters in their heads.

The ability to use one’s imagination effectively has been proven to have considerable value. According to research published in the journal Verbal Learning as well as Verbal Behavior, listening to a story can improve one’s ability to visualize the events being described. Visualization improves the reading experience compared to standard text.

Digi-Vocabulary Teacher

Because of the abundance of electronic media available today, our eyes are constantly bombarded with competing visual cues. A Nielsen survey from 2020 found that the average American customer spent 4.5 hours per week watching TV (either live or on catch-up services) and 3 hours and 46 minutes browsing mobile app content. Yikes!

You may try taking a break from the computer and engaging in some aural training. You can learn new words, their meanings, and even their intonations by listening to podcasts, which feature interviews and narratives. As a result, your vocabulary and understanding may both benefit.

The Final Thoughts

The flow of a conversation is more familiar and comfortable than the narration of a story. Listen as their ideas build upon each other and reverberate around the room. When compared to reading a book, listening to a podcast is more unpredictable because of the greater potential for unexpected tangents and diversions. There is a podcast to educate you just about anything, whether it’s the entertainment business, applied technologies, theme parks, or something else entirely. The fact that you can skip around within an episode is probably the best feature of podcasts.