Sometimes in the year 2020, I stumbled on the band’s page on Facebook. I got to know that the man had died but his children continued the legacy. I ordered their old albums.
One day, my mother visited me and I played one of the songs. She jumped for joy, started dancing and she also sang along. It was as if we traveled back in time to the 80s.
We have all experienced the phenomenon of hearing a favourite song played on the radio or television and instantly having a wave of old memories wash over us from our associations to the melody.
After having explored nutrition, exercise, the use of decoction, and infusion of herbs for health, let us see how music can impact well-being.
Before I proceed, I would like to ask you how you have been coping with the heat. I know It has not been easy. Please, always stay hydrated all the time. That is the only way to pull through.
Music has long been used as a source of comfort and solace in times of distress. Listening to calming music can help people relax and focus. It can provide a sense of connection, support, and understanding during difficult moments. The history of music in healthcare has shown that it can reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and even chronic physical pain. Research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain.
Music is often used in therapy sessions for this reason; it helps create an atmosphere conducive to stress relief and healing emotional wounds. In addition to reducing stress levels, music can also be used as a form of self-expression or communication when words fail us.
Music has the power to touch our souls and lift our spirits. It helps people heal on a physical level by providing relaxation techniques that reduce stress levels and improve cognitive function.
Charles Darwin once remarked, “If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.” Albert Einstein declared, “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician.”
Music therapy is an established healthcare profession that uses evidence-based music interventions to address therapeutic healthcare goals. Music therapy happens between a patient (and possibly their caregivers and/or family) and a board-certified music therapist.
Music therapists use both active (singing, instrument exploration, songwriting, movement, digital music creation, and more) and receptive (music listening, guided imagery with music, playlist creation, or music conversation and reminiscence) interventions and create goals to improve health and well-being.
Some of those goals could include decreasing anxiety, shifting your mood, decreasing pain perception during cancer or other medical treatment, increasing expression, finding motivation, and many others.
Let us explore more ways that music can impact our health:
- It can lead to better learning
Doctors at Johns Hopkins recommend that you listen to music to stimulate your brain. Scientists know that listening to music engages your brain because they can see the active areas light up in MRI scans.
Researchers now know that just the promise of listening to music can make you want to learn more. In one 2019 study, people were more motivated to learn when they expected to listen to a song as their reward.
- It can improve memory
Music also has a positive effect on your ability to memorize. In one study, researchers gave people tasks that required them to read and then recall short lists of words.
Those who were listening to classical music outperformed those who worked in silence or with white noise.
Mayo Clinic points out that while music does not reverse the memory loss experienced by people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, music has been found to slow cognitive decline, helping people with mild or moderate dementia remember episodes from their lives.
- It can help treat mental illness
Music changes the brain. Neurological researchers have found that listening to music triggers the release of several neurochemicals that play a role in brain function and mental health:
- Dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure and “reward” centers
b.Stress hormones like cortisol
- Serotonin and other hormones related to immunity
- Oxytocin is a chemical that fosters the ability to connect to others
- It has effects on mood
Several researchers have interviewed groups of people about why they listen to music.
Researchers found that one of the most common uses of music is that it helps people regulate their emotions. It has the power to change moods and help people process their feelings.
- It can help lower anxiety
There is a lot of evidence that listening to music can help calm you in situations where you might feel anxious. Studies have shown that people in rehab after a stroke are more relaxed once they have listened to music for an hour.
Similar studies indicate that music blended with nature sounds helps people feel less anxious. Even, people facing critical illness feel less anxiety after music therapy.
- It helps the symptoms of depression
A 2017 research review concluded that listening to music, particularly classical combined with jazz, had a positive effect on depression symptoms, especially when there were several listening sessions conducted by board-certified music therapists.
- It can help your heart health
Music can make you want to move and the benefits of dancing are well documented. Scientists also know that listening to music can alter your breath rate, your heart rate, and your blood pressure, depending on the music’s intensity and tempo.
- It decreases fatigue
Anyone who has ever rolled down car windows and turned up the radio knows that music can be energizing. There is solid science behind that lived experience.
In 2015, researchers at Shanghai University found that relaxing music helped reduce fatigue and maintain muscle endurance when people were engaged in a repetitive task.
Music therapy sessions also lessened fatigue in people receiving cancer treatments and raised the fatigue threshold for people engaged in demanding neuromuscular training.
A study titled Editorial: The Impact of Music on Human Development and Well-Being by Graham F. Welch concludes that engaging in musical activity can have a positive impact on health and well-being in a variety of ways and a diverse range of contexts across the lifespan. Musical activities, whether focused on listening, being creative or re-creative, individual or collective, are infused with the potential to be therapeutic, developmental, enriching, and educational, with the caveat provided that such musical experiences are perceived to be engaging, meaningful, and successful by those who participate.
Let me leave you with these quotes:
“Music can heal the wounds which medicine cannot touch.” – Debasish Mridha
“Music has real health benefits. It boosts dopamine, lowers cortisol and it makes us feel great. Your brain is better on music.” – Alex Domain
