Music For Better Health

Music has been around for thousands of years. It entertains us, energizes us during workouts, brings people together to celebrate, and comforts us when we are having difficult times. Research shows that music can have meaningful effects on physical and mental health.

One of music’s most well-known benefits is its ability to lower stress. Listening to calming music has been shown to decrease cortisol, our body’s primary stress hormone, while slowing our heart rate and breathing. Think about the times you listen to music throughout your day- maybe while you’re getting ready for work, or in the car during your commute, maybe at night time when you’re eating dinner. Listening to relaxing music 10-15 minutes can bring a sense of calm during your busy day.

Mentally, music can improve our mood, reduce our anxiety, encourage relaxation, and even promote emotional resilience. You might have a music app on your phone, computer or TV, such as Pandora, or Spotify. One of the great ways to utilize it, is to pick a band, singer or song that has uplifted you or made you relax- start with that to create your own radio station, and it will start to add others that are similar. All you have to do it like or dislike it and it will help develop your uplifting playlist.

Some therapists incorporate music into treatment plans as part of music therapy, an evidence-based healthcare profession that uses music to help improve emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being. You might hear light music when you’re waiting at the dentist office or for a doctor’s appointment. It helps relax you.

As you wind down at the end of the night, you might want to add gentle music before you go to sleep. Slow-tempo music can encourage the body to relax, helping prepare both the mind and nervous system for sleep. A consistent bedtime routine has been known to help us better sleep, including calming music to that routine could improve sleep quality over time.

Music also activates multiple areas of the brain simultaneously. Studies suggest that regular musical engagement may support your memory, your attention, your learning ability, and cognitive function. Music is frequently incorporated into programs for individuals living with neurological conditions, including dementia and Parkinson’s disease for these very reasons.

Music can also increase motivation, improve endurance, and even make physical activity feel less strenuous. Whether you’re in the middle of a yoga class, walking, cycling, or strength training, music may help you stay active and enjoy exercise more.

Research has found that listening to music may help reduce the perception of pain for some individuals. So while it may not eliminate pain, it can help soothe us by occupying our mind with something pleasant, thereby, allowing us to deal with the discomfort much better.

Mentally, it helps us socially as well. Music simply brings people together. Whether singing in a choir, attending a concert or festival, going out dancing, or listening to music while we entertain friends and family at home, music fosters meaningful connections. Those connections are associated with lower stress levels and improved overall well being.

You don’t need to be a musician to experience the benefits of music, but learning to play an instrument or honing in on your vocal skills can amplify the ways that music helps us. It helps even more with our memory, our attention and concentration, our hand-eye coordination, our confidence and so much more.

We can often take things for granted. Sometimes the simplest wellness habits are the most accessible. Music has the unique ability to influence both the mind and body in so many ways.

Whether you enjoy classical music, jazz, country, rock, hip-hop, pop, alternative, blues, or blue grass, making music part of your daily routine may be one small step toward supporting your overall health that can open up a whole new world to you. Music is one more reminder that caring for your health can be both simple and enjoyable.