Silence is golden but everyone needs a soundtrack to power their lives! There are many mindfulness practices to stimulate inner awareness, increase health, and elevate our mood. Maybe you prefer to listen to some Mozart with your full being while sipping tea. Or you are someone who sings pop-songs at the top of their lungs while driving across town. There is nothing quite like cranking up the tunes and throwing down some dance moves with friends. Here you will learn the scientific research about music’s profound physiological effect on our bodies. Music also helps improve concentration, relieves stress, and acts as an antidepressant.
“Music’s beneficial effects on mental health have been known for thousands of years. Ancient philosophers from Plato to Confucius and the kings of Israel sang the praises of music and used it to help soothe stress. Military bands use music to build confidence and courage. Sporting events provide music to rouse enthusiasm. Schoolchildren use music to memorize their ABCs. Shopping malls play music to entice consumers and keep them in the store. Dentists play music to help calm nervous patients.” – Mental Health, Naturally: The Family Guide to Holistic Care for a Healthy Mind and Body
Take a moment and listen to Billie Holiday’s Lady Sings the Blues and you will be transported to another time. Sing along with her and you may ooze with the feelings as if they are your own. Crank up Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and you will be filled with emotions you may have never known existed. The capacity to feel is core to having compassion. Simultaneously music has a profound effect on cognitive processes and learning too.
“Auditory biology is not frozen in time. It’s a moving target. And music education really does seem to enhance communication by strengthening language skills.”
– Nina Kraus, the Hugh Knowles Professor of Communication Sciences, Neurobiology & Physiology, and Otolaryngology at Northwestern University as well as the principal investigator at the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory
Musical Entrainment
Musical entrainment creates connection both internally and externally. You can see it when you watch whole crowd dancing to a live band. It is obvious when you see the people around you sobbing at an opera. Musical sounds can vibrate physical objects and alter your emotional state.
Science explains this as an aspect of mirror neurons. This behavior of mimicking can happen emotionally and physically. A song can give you chills, make you cry, or fill you with euphoria. It can inspire spontaneous physical expression as you start jamming on an air guitar, or begin dancing uncontrollably.
The Science
Most of us inherently know this stuff but it is still worth noting when science validates it through research. Researchers found preliminary scientific evidence supporting claims that music influences health through neurochemical changes in four domains:
- Reward
- Motivation and Pleasure
- Stress and Arousal
- Immunity; and Social Affiliation
Cited from a study called The Neuroscience of Music, published by the Department of Psychology at McGill University in Montreal.
“The potential therapeutic effects of music listening have been largely attributed to its ability to reduce stress and modulate arousal levels. Listening to ‘relaxing music’ (generally considered to have slow tempo, low pitch, and no lyrics) has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in healthy subjects, patients undergoing invasive medical procedures (e.g., surgery, colonoscopy, dental procedures, pediatric patients undergoing medical procedures, and patients with coronary heart disease.” – The Neurochemistry of Music
Health Benefits
Music engages the brain, body, and emotions, creating powerful effects on mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Here’s why it resonates so profoundly:
- Activates Multiple Brain Areas: Music stimulates auditory, motor, and emotional regions of the brain simultaneously. This full-brain experience enhances our mood, memory, and focus.
- Releases Neurochemicals (natural brain chemicals): Listening to and creating music triggers dopamine (pleasure), oxytocin (bonding), and serotonin (mood regulation). This creates feelings of joy, connection, and relaxation.
- Emotionally Expressive: Music allows people to access and process complex emotions that are otherwise hard to express verbally.
- Stress Reduction: It lowers cortisol levels, the body’s stress hormone, helping listeners feel more calm and balanced.
- Therapeutic Catharsis: Sad music, paradoxically, can give comfort by validating emotions and creating a safe space for release.
- Pain Management: Music can act as a natural analgesic, that reduces the perception of pain by distracting the mind. Thus promoting relaxation.
- Improves Heart Health: Slow, rhythmic music can synchronize with the heart rate and breathing, promoting cardiovascular health.
- Boosts Immunity: Music has been shown to increase the production of immune-boosting cells and reduce inflammation.
- Improves Memory: Music stimulates areas of the brain involved in memory, helping recall in conditions like Alzheimer’s or dementia.
- Focus and Learning: Certain types of music, like classical or instrumental, can enhance concentration and cognitive performance.
Music Brings People Together
A shared experience that fosters a sense of community and belonging is essential. Music concerts, festivals and celebrations allow us to flourish socially. Music transcends language barriers, creating a universal connection that resonates across cultures and backgrounds.
Music is the Universal Language
It is no surprise that music has been used in ritual and ceremony since the beginning of time. Women share playlists for the delivery room to welcome new life. You can even higher a hospice harpist to help the transition from a terminal disease. Music education has also been shown to help children’s developing brains. So it is only natural to place it in a category for mindfulness, meditation, and healing.
“Music is a language of energy, a “vibe” of emotions and joy. It speaks to our core desires and feelings. It speaks to our core desires and feelings. It spans language barriers and political borders, making it a powerful means through which humans can connect.” – Patrick Groneman
Music is also a reflection of culture. In today’s world we are experiencing an unprecedented convergence of ideas through the internet and technology. We are re-mixing historical themes, embellishing forgotten ideas and combining belief systems across time and societies. Internet is fostering a modern version of digital, informational, cultural jazz, a media fusion.
Electronic dance music has captured wide acclaim. DJ’s and producers improvise with musical tools that have the ability to drop samples, mix, and change tempo. Some call it trance music because it can induce ecstatic states of consciousness.
It is our conscious intention or lack of it, that makes the difference in our experience. Try exploring new music when you want to get out of a rut. Just as you are what you eat, you should choose your music wisely. Music is medicine for the mind, body and soul.
