Music has been widely studied and revered throughout human history for its ability to both entertain and heal. Countless experts have investigated how listening to music can potentially have therapeutic effects on a range of mental and physical health conditions, or just as a way to cope with everyday life. Music has ruled over the world since it has been discovered. Then, when music was discovered? Well, no one has an accurate answer to this.
Listening to your favorite music may have more health benefits than you realize. Here’s how songs can reduce stress and help you heal.
It’s not until we forget our headphones that we realize just how much we rely on music to help us through the day. Our favorite music seems capable of pumping us up before an important moment, calming us down when we’re upset, and just about anything in between.
But is there actually a scientific explanation for this? As it turns out, yes!
How can listening to music reduce stress?
Stress the feeling of emotional tension, overwhelm, or feeling unable to cope — affects us mentally and physically. Short term, cortisol can help us find the focus and energy we need to deal with a difficult situation, but when the body is exposed to excess cortisol for a prolonged period of time, it causes perpetual, exhausting states of fight, flight, or freeze. Ongoing or chronic stress can lead to developing an anxiety disorder, depression, chronic pain, and more.
How does music affect your brain?
So what is music actually doing to us during those hours we listen to it?
Well, here’s a super simple breakdown:
- Music sounds move through our ears as vibrations.
- The inner ear translates these vibrations into electrical signals.
- Neurons transmit these signals to certain areas of the cerebral cortex in the brain.
- Dedicated regions of the brain detect the different elements of the signals (like the tone, pitch, rhythm).
- As the brain puts together all of this information so that you can sense the musical experience, it can influence our emotions and bodily systems, which is why scientists are so interested in studying it!
Music as meditation:
Meditation aims to focus, center, calm, or direct your attention. It can also help relax our bodies. So it can pair well with music for some people.
Often, music used for meditation has a slow tempo, which can reduce heart rate, and also lower anxiety and stress levels. Guided meditation involves music with a narrator or speaker that directs your energy flow and focus, or offers positive affirmations.
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Writer,
Fatema Tuz Zannat Oyshi
Content Writing Department
YSSE