Did you realise that music could be beneficial to your health in addition to being just plain entertaining? The World Health Organization (WHO) advocated for the use of music and the arts in controlling sickness in individuals of all ages in a report they released in 2019.
Numerous studies indicate that music may have a variety of advantages, including reducing stress, enhancing sleep, and fostering health and wellness. A review of 26 research revealed that a variety of musical genres, including classical, gospel, jazz, relaxing, and vocal music, were significantly linked to enhanced health-related quality of life in both healthy older adults and those with medical conditions. In 2022, the study was released in JAMA Network Open.
Of all, each person has their own musical tastes and preferences, so what may apply to research subjects may not necessarily apply to everyone. That being said, if music fits your lifestyle, here are some benefits you might experience.
Numerous studies have found that listening to or creating music has positive effects on mood, reduces stress and anxiety, and promotes better sleep.
Researchers looked at how people on three different continents used music to feel better while in quarantine in one 2021 study that was published in PLoS One. The study employed an online poll during the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic. They discovered that music listening was a powerful predictor of wellbeing during COVID-19 and was connected with improved emotional regulation.
Music has the power to evoke positive emotions and divert attention from unpleasant ones while also promoting relaxation, social comfort, and catharsis, however individual experiences may vary. The brain regions involved in the release of dopamine, the substance responsible for motivation, pleasure, and reward, may be stimulated by listening to music. Additionally, music has been linked to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and higher levels of the feel-good hormone endorphins. Endorphins are your body's inbuilt painkillers and are what give exercisers a common "runner's high."
Research also supports the idea that listening to music before bed may make you sleep better. According to a Cochrane review of 13 studies from 2022, adults with insomnia who listen to recorded music for 25 to 60 minutes per day experience significantly higher-quality sleep than those who don't.
It may have been known for ages that music has beneficial impacts on physical health, particularly cardiovascular health. The autonomic nervous system, which controls bodily functions including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and digestion, can be stimulated or calmed by music. Slower-paced music may aid to lessen the stress response and lower blood pressure, pulse rate, and breathing rate, according to research.
A Mozart symphony, Johann Strauss waltzes, and pop music by ABBA were all played for 25 minutes in a German study that was published in 2016. When listening to classical music, but not ABBA, heart rate and blood pressure significantly decreased. The greatest reduction in systolic blood pressure—almost 5 mm Hg—was attributed to Mozart's music (the top number of your blood pressure reading).
The Mozart Effect is the name for it. Mozart has been linked to reductions in blood pressure as well as enhancements in cognition, learning, and relaxation. The actual reason is unclear to researchers. Some speculate that it may be related to the melodies that are frequently repeated in his music. Bach music listening has also been linked to a decrease in stress.
Since the beginning of time, music has been utilised to treat disease. Hippocrates, regarded as the founder of medicine, recommended music to his patients around 400 BC. Nowadays, music is added to medical therapy to treat a variety of illnesses. Through reducing discomfort, fostering recovery, and enhancing communication, emotion expression, and memory, music therapy can be used to cure sickness.
The WHO states that music therapy may have additional advantages for a variety of people, including those who are dealing with:
Note that these advantages are also available to those who are deaf or have hearing loss of varied degrees. Even someone who is profoundly deaf can access and enjoy music in a more physical way than auditorily, such as through the vibrations of music, as deafness is a continuum.
What explains music's therapeutic ability? You don't have to wait till scientists know the answers to take pleasure in it. You may incorporate music into your everyday routine, and it just might calm your soul and improve your health.
Billy Joel, a performer and acknowledged expert, may have said it best: “I think music is therapeutic in and of itself. It is a powerful manifestation of humanity. It is something that affects us all. Everyone likes music, regardless of their cultural background.”
