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The Stones.  Rihanna.  The Weekend.  Kevin Gates.  Even, Raffi, for those of you with kids! But what would your workplace be like if you heard music from one of these musicians or groups? A new study says teamwork would grow. According to newswise.com, music at work increases cooperation.   From casual acoustic melodies at the coffee shop to throbbing electronic beats at teen clothing outlets, music is used to mold customer experience and behavior.But what about employees? Cornell researchers have found that music can have important effects on the cooperative spirits of those exposed to it.  They looked for ways music affected employees working three to a team, then played the music. When happy, upbeat music was played – researchers chose the “Happy Days” theme song, “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison, “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles and “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves – team members were more likely to contribute to the group...

Could it be that easy?  A new study says that if you think of exercise as fun, or a treat, instead of oh-God-it's-time-to-go-running, you'll lose weight. According to newswise.com, "Think of your next workout as a fun activity or as a well-deserved break – not exercise – and you’ll eat less and lose more weight, according to a new study from Cornell University Food and Brand Lab." The study analyzed the eating habits of people after walking 2 km (a little more than a mile) – half the participants were told the walk was exercise, while others were told it was a scenic walk. Researchers found that those who believed they completed an exercise walk ate 35 percent more chocolate pudding for dessert than those who had been on a scenic walk. On a different occasion, those thinking they had taken an exercise walk ate 206 more calories -- 124 percent more calories – than those who had been told they were on a scenic walk.  According to researchers, the study...

Great.  We haven't heard and seen enough ads to last us a lifetime.  Now a new study has found the key themes that cut through the clutter and make us sit up and take notice -- to create more ads. Researchers from North Carolina State University have analyzed 50 years’ worth of hit songs to identify key themes that marketing professionals can use to craft advertisements that will resonate with audiences, according to newswise.com. “People are exposed to a barrage of advertisements and they often respond by tuning out those advertisements. We wanted to see what we could learn from hit songs to help advertisers break through all that clutter,” says Dr. David Henard, a professor of marketing at NC State and lead author of a paper describing the research at newswise.com. “We also wanted to see if there were specific themes that could help companies engage with consumers in a positive way via social media." Researchers found that there's a" limited range of widel...

Is your kid in the school choir?  Does he play the saxophone?  How about the drums, like my son (who is driving me crazy with all his pounding on walls and coffee cans and the floor and just about anything that makes a sound when you hit it). Well, be grateful, not annoyed.  A new study has found that even the smallest bit of musical training in early childhood provides a boost to the brain as an adult. According to medicalnewstoday.com, "Researchers discovered that, despite not having played an instrument in nearly 40 years, (the) participants who completed 4-14 years of music training early in life had the fastest response to (a) speech sound (approximately a millisecond faster than those without music training)."  The faster the response, the better the brain activity The story relates this to neural timing, and states that "neural timing is the first to go in aging adults."  Experts define neural ability as the physical basis for thoughts, feelings a...

You heard it here first.  Some kinds of music can ease pain.  Not all music, but some.  Beats me.  I never cared much for Elton John but supposedly his "Candle in the Wind" (about Princess Diana's death) may cure your lower back pain. Well, not really, but a very scientific study of this very thing has been done a number of times, including a study by the University of Utah Pain Management Center, which found roughly four in 10 people living with persistent pain said listening to music helped relieve their symptoms, according to reports , CBS News in New York notes. “ Pleasant music triggers the release of the brain chemical   dopamine ,”  Robert Zatorre , of McGill University, who studies emotion and music, tells brainfacts.org. This change “is strongly associated with other rewarding and motivating stimuli, such as food, sex, and certain addictive drugs,” Zatorre adds. Scientists believe that music’s ability to make you feel good may be one ...