Listening to music before an operation can even improve post-surgery outcomes. How can music do so much good? Innes coauthored a study that found music-listening could boost mood and well-being and improve stress-related measures in older adults suffering from cognitive decline.
Her study compared the benefits of music to those of meditation —a practice in vogue for its mental-health perks. She found that both practices were linked to significant improvements in mood and sleep quality. If the idea of listening to music seems a lot more practicable to you than meditating, these findings are great news. Along with inducing stress, Loewy says, the wrong music can promote rumination or other unhelpful mental states.
One study from Finland found that music can bolster negative emotions—like anger, aggression or sadness—much the same way it can counteract these feelings. Tracks with a slow tempo, gradual chord progressions and drawn-out notes tend to be calming, Levitin says, while chaotic and up-tempo music tends to have the opposite effect. But all of this is subjective.
Dive in. Just be sure to set aside distractions. To cultivate an even deeper connection between music and your health, consider a field called music therapy, which focuses on using music to improve patient outcomes.
Music literally 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:. Although more research needs to be done to understand precisely how music can be used therapeutically to treat mental illness, some studies suggest that music therapy can improve the quality of life and social connectedness for people with schizophrenia.
A number of researchers have interviewed groups about why they listen to music. Study participants vary widely in terms of age, gender, and background, but they report strikingly similar reasons. One of the most common uses of music? It helps people regulate their emotions , researchers found. It has the power to change moods and help people process their feelings. Similar studies indicate that music blended with nature sounds help people feel less anxious.
Even people facing critical illness feel less anxiety after music therapy. One study indicated that the body releases less cortisol, a stress hormone, when people listen to music. This same study referenced previous research stating that music had little measurable effect on cortisol levels. A 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.
Not into jazz or the classics? You may want to try a group percussion session instead. The same research review found that drum circles also had above-average benefits for people dealing with depression. Music can make you want to move — and the benefits of dancing are well documented. Anyone who has ever rolled down car windows and turned up the radio knows that music can be energizing. In , 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, which leads us to the next big benefit. Exercise enthusiasts have long known that music enhances their physical performance. A research review confirms that working out with music improves your mood, helps your body exercise more efficiently, and cuts down on your awareness of exertion.
Working out with music also leads to longer workouts. Reach for familiar music, especially if it stems from the same time period that you are trying to recall. Listening to the Beatles might bring you back to the first moment you laid eyes on your spouse, for instance. Pay attention to how you react to different forms of music, and pick the kind that works for you.
What helps one person concentrate might be distracting to someone else, and what helps one person unwind might make another person jumpy. Magnetic resonance imaging MRI : A large machine that uses powerful magnets and radio waves to see inside your body.
Unlike an X-ray, MRI testing does not use radiation. If you feel anxious in small, enclosed spaces, ask your physician about an open MRI that is not as close to the body.
Health Home Wellness and Prevention. The Brain-Music Connection Experts are trying to understand how our brains can hear and play music.
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