The Medical Benefits Of Music, Part 2

  Research has shown that blood flows more easily when music is played. It can also reduce the rate of heart beats, lower blood pressure, decrease cortisol (stress hormone) levels and increase serotonin and endorphin levels in the blood. It elevates mood. As stated in the previous post, music can boost the brain's production of the hormone dopamine. Music have been proven to be helpful in the elimination of depressive mood. However, the medical benefits of music is dependent on the genre, percussion and tone of music. Music which are used for Sound or Music therapy should be selective, inspiring, melodious and absolutely pleasant to the auditory senses. 

N.B. "Music therapy must never be used to replace the use of required drugs for the treatment of an ill health condition, rather, it can best be used for the recovery process while the certified treatment is undergone". 

  In 2009, archaeologists excavating a cave in southern Germany uncovered a flute carved from a vulture’s wing bone. The delicate artifact is the oldest known musical instrument on earth — indicating that people have been making music for over 40,000 years. However, the music of nature have been with mankind from its "Foundation" [read the post; The Divine Origin Of Music].

Archaeologists can’t prove exactly when human beings began listening to music, but scientists do know something about why we do. Listening to music benefits us individually and collectively. Here’s what research tells us about the power of music to improve our physical, mental, and emotional health.

Music Connect Us; Researchers think one of the most important function of music is to create a feeling of cohesion or social harmony. 

Music's Effects On The Mind; It can lead to better learning. Doctors at John Hopkins recommend that you listen to music to stimulate your brain. Scientists know that listening to music engages your brain — 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. However, caution have been noted through research that not all kinds of music help in learning. Rather some musicals with negative impression exists mostly in the Pop Genre. 

   The most helpful music to the mind and body are the musicals within the Classical Genre, Inspiring Instrumentals And Jazz Music. 

Music Can Improve Memory; Music have a positive effect on your ability to memorize. In a certain 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. The same study tracked how fast people could perform simple processing tasks — matching numbers to geometrical shapes — and a similar benefit showed up. Mozart helped people complete the task faster and more accurately. However, Mayo Clinic in U.S.A. points out that while music doesn’t 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. Music memory is one of the brain functions most resistant to dementia. That’s why some caregivers have had success using music to calm dementia patients and build trusting connections with them. 

 

  Music can help in the treatment of Mental Problems; Music literally changes the brain. A fact was noted in the last paragraph of the first part of this series, The Medical Benefit Of Music, Part 1. 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
• stress relieving hormones like cortisol
• serotonin and other hormones related to immunity
• oxytocin, a chemical that fosters the ability to connect to others

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 harmony for people with schizophrenia.

Trusted Sourcesuggest that music therapy can improve the quality of life and social harmony for people with schizophrenia.  

Listening to the right genre of music explained earlier have positive effects on the mood leading to better emotional feelings. But unpleasant musicals as well as musicals with negative notes are not helpful to emotions and depressive states. Hence, caution should be applied in music selections for emotional purposes. 

     Music’s Effects On The Body; 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.

Trusted Sourceyour 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’s solid science behind that lived experience.

In 2015, researchersTrusted Source 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.

It boosts exercise performance

Exercise enthusiasts have long known that music enhances their physical performance.

A 2020 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 workoutsTrusted Source.

In clinical settings, athletes who listened to high-intensity, fast music during warm ups were motivatedTrusted Source to perform better competitively.

You don’t have to be a world-class competitor to benefit: ResearchTrusted Source shows that syncing your workout to music can allow you to reach peak performance using less oxygen than if you did the same workout without the beat. Music acts as a metronome in your body, researchers said.

It can help manage pain

Specially trained music therapists use music to help alleviate pain in inpatient and outpatient settings. A 2016 meta-analysisTrusted Source of over 90 studies reported that music helps people manage both acute and chronic pain better than medication alone.

Truste think one of the most important functions of music is to create a feeling of cohesion or social connectedness.