12 Health Benefits Of Music

The effects of music on people are not just about the pleasure of enjoying the beauty of this art.

Researchers have found that music has many health benefits in general, from relieving physical pain to improving memory.

Music can also radically change your mood and increase your concentration, freeing your body from the harmful effects of stress.

The effects of music on health

Listening to a favorite song and performing a song can have real effects on several brain regions, including those responsible for memory and sense of sight.

A Canadian study has shown that there is a causal relationship between music and the reward system, a central part of the brain that reacts to positive stimuli (such as food, light, sex, etc.) and encourages the adoption of behaviors that lead to a state. good.

One of the most important health benefits of music is:

Release stress. A doctoral dissertation presented at the University of Gothenburg shows that listening to music every day is an effective way to reduce stress. The paper is based on the findings of two studies that have shown that music lovers have the most positive emotions. For a real stress release, it is recommended to listen to your favorite musical genre (because not all people react emotionally to the same type of music).

Calming the brain during an operation. Research conducted by Cleveland Clinic scientists suggests that patients who listen to rhythmic music are calmer when they undergo surgery. Music acts, in this case, as a sedative without side effects.

Improving hearing acuity. A study conducted in 2011 on a sample of 163 people (including 74 musicians) reveals that people who have frequent contact with music have a finer hearing and can better distinguish the various sounds in the environment.

Maintaining heart health. University of Maryland researchers have found a definite link between listening to music and heart health. Cheerful and rhythmic music stimulates the process of dilation of blood vessels in the heart, facilitating good blood circulation to the heart. As a percentage, the diameter of blood vessels increases by up to 26% when a person listens to a cheerful song.

Pain relief. Scientists at the University of Utah, USA, have demonstrated experimentally that music is an excellent source of distraction from physical pain. Thus, people who listen to a good song feel the pain at a lower intensity. The study was performed on a sample of 143 people, and the results showed that all participants focused on a certain melodic line felt less intensely the electrical impulses generated by small electrodes attached to the navel of the fingers.

Improving memory. Psychologists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong support the theory that children who take music lessons more easily assimilate the material taught in school, get better test scores, and have a higher verbal memory, compared to students who do not perform any musical activity.

Prevent premature brain aging. Constant contact with music can help protect brain performance as we age. Researchers at the University of Kansas, USA, found that the elderly who received a music education at some point in their lives were the ones who best maintained their cognitive function.

Preventing heart transplant rejection. This benefit has proven to be real, at the moment, only in the case of laboratory guinea pigs. Japanese researchers have found that exposing mice to certain musical genres helps prolong longevity after a heart transplant operation. The guinea pigs have been exposed to many musical genres, from Mozart and Verdi to modern music. The best results were observed during the exposure to classical music.

Improving recovery after a stroke. Finnish scientists say that listening to music immediately after a stroke can help patients recover better. The study published in the journal Brain in 2008 shows that music can help improve verbal memory and attention among patients who have suffered a stroke.

Reducing the level of anxiety. Quality music can be a good substitute for relaxing massages in the fight against high levels of anxiety. A study published in the journal Depression and Anxiety says that patients who received 10 hours of relaxing massages showed the same symptoms of anxiety relief as people treated their anxiety while listening to their favorite music.

Maintaining emotional balance in treating cancer. Scientists at Drexel University highlight another potential benefit of music in combating the anxiety felt by cancer patients during treatment. A study involving 1891 sufferers shows that patients who have taken refuge in music since learning of the diagnosis not only had lower levels of stress but also better blood pressure and a more positive mood.

Induction of a good mood. Researchers at McGill University in Montreal have shown experimentally that listening to a pleasant song stimulates the secretion of pleasure hormones, such as dopamine, which have a major influence on mood. Thus, some people can increase their energy level on a difficult day with the help of music, while others can use this art to get rid of negative emotions. Brain processes are very complicated, and the elements that influence them are not yet fully discovered - however, music is certainly an important stimulus for the messages transmitted by the brain to the whole body.