We know instinctively and intuitively that music improves our mental health.
Humans have always relied on music to ease their anguish and soothe their souls. All throughout the world, parents soothe their children to sleep and commemorate important events like birthdays, graduations, and marriages with music. We rely on music to get us through exercises and tasks we’d rather avoid, and we use melodies to control our moods.
Did you realize that music may affect your body both mentally and physically?
While the majority of us like listening to music for amusement, we should also be aware that it can improve your wellbeing in general. The effect of music is absolutely astonishing, from lowering stress and enhancing cognitive function to encouraging and inspiring creativity.
Indeed, according to Stanford University researchers, music has been shown to have an impact on brain activity “to the same extent as medication in many circumstances.”
How does music bring about such a powerful effect on our mood?
The relationship between music and mood
Most people won’t be shocked to find that music affects the brain emotionally. Everyone has a song that moves them deeply and gets them moving again, as well as a song that makes them cry.
Composers often include music in movies because they want you to experience the right emotions at the right time—such as sadness, joy, rage, or fear. Significant emotional impact is had by music. You’ve probably chosen your own music to evoke a specific response in your brain, just like when gym goers put on a motivational playlist full of energy to get through a workout.
Of course, studies showing the numerous ways music affects our emotions support all of this. When we listen to upbeat, pleasant music, our brains release dopamine and serotonin, which makes us feel good. On the other hand, calming music promotes tranquility and relaxation. The study did, however, also show that, although music might alter our mood, our mood can also affect the music we chose to listen to.
Music and memory
Pitch, timbre, rhythm, dynamics, and a lot more are all important components of music. In order for the brain to decode music, it must “integrate the sequentially ordered sounds into a coherent musical perception,” according to a Journal of Biology paper.
When reading, the brain first recognizes individual letters and sounds before ultimately deriving meaning from sentences and paragraphs. These mental processes are quite similar to how individual sounds are knit together to create the overall perception of a song. Both processes rely on working memory, and researchers hypothesize that there is substantial overlap between working memory for musical and verbal inputs.
Of course, emotions improve memory. Because adolescence is a period of intense emotion, the majority of adults can still remember every word to the songs they loved in high school.
There is evidence that says listening to music may improve brain function and aid in the brain’s capacity for adaptation.
Compared to stroke survivors who listened to audio books and those who didn’t listen to either music or books on a regular basis, adults who had a stroke and listened to music every day showed significantly greater improvements in verbal memory and cognition after two months.
What changes does music have on you physically
Pain tolerance can be increased through singing, playing an instrument, and even dancing. According to research, the physical exertion required to make music creates a synchronized activity that greatly lowers the threshold for pain. Music therapists are specially trained medical professionals who utilize music to achieve objectives like pain relief.
If you’ve ever listened to music of any kind, you are aware that your body can respond in a variety of ways, including:
- you nod your head
- tapping the floor
- you snap your fingers
Your heart rate can also be affected by the music you’re listening to, and group singing frequently causes coordinated breathing, which elevates mood.
Because listening to music is frequently joyful, it can induce endorphins to be released, which results in an overall feeling of well-being. Successful use of music therapy can lower physical stress, post-operative discomfort, and affect heart and breathing rates. Fast music frequently raises blood pressure and heart rate. Slow music has the tendency to lower breathing rate, blood pressure, and pulse rate.
Music can lower your stress levels
One of the most effective ways to relieve stress is through music. The calming effects of relaxing music and its intimate connection to our emotions can make it a highly effective stress-reduction technique, allowing us to decompress and perhaps even take a break. It can be a terrific technique to get your attention away from a stressful situation and to clear your head so you can return to the problem with new perspective.
Our bodies and minds may both relax when we are listening to music, and there are many different types of music that reduce anxiety and depressive thoughts. Even heavy metal music, according to studies, can help decrease blood pressure. This proves that even the most intense music can help you deal with stress, as elevated blood pressure is both a cause and a symptom of stress.
Listening to music can lower your cortisol levels in addition to reducing blood pressure. Humans produce the stress hormone cortisol, and the higher the level, the more stressed we are. Regardless of the listener’s musical preferences, research has shown that symphonic music can lower cortisol levels. So instead of listening to your stress out, why not listen to some Beethoven? Although it may not be to your taste, it has been shown to be beneficial to you.
The body responds to music in a variety of ways, and regular music listening can do wonders for your physical and mental health.
It might be worth turning on your favorite playlist while you’re at work, whether you enjoy the Beatles, Mozart, or Backstreet Boys, or listening to rain sounds to lower anxiety and increase motivation.
Feeling down in the dumps? Just Press Play!
Play some uplifting music the next time you’re feeling depressed.
You will feel uplifted and cheered by the music.
Even better, think back to a certain period in your life. When you were truly joyful.
Then, play that music that you can recall listening to at the time.
Your mind will be overtaken by the feelings you felt at that time, which will change how you view the world right now.
