Music For Better Health (Whether Listening Or Playing)

Music can have a powerful effect on your mood and emotions. It’s not unknown for some people to burst into tears at the sound of a particular song, when it’s connected with a strong memory. Fortunately, music has plenty of happier connotations for many people. We all know that music is used to raise the mood at parties and to dance to, but music can also be used as a form of therapy.

While music is generally associated with positive vibes, there’s also a big market for depressing and miserable songs, often with younger people. While you likely have direct experience with music’s positive effects, there are some lesser known and surprising ones that you may not be aware of.

Music Helps In Recovery From Trauma

It took a war for music to be seriously looked at as a means to help patients recover. When soldiers came home from World War II suffering from what was known then as “shell shock” — doctors thought that artillery shells had caused these symptoms in soldiers. Today, we refer to this condition as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the 1940s, it was discovered that music could alleviate some of the symptoms of PTSD. Music aided in relaxation for the soldiers and helped them to reduce their anxiety and stress. It was one of the first instances in which music was scientifically acknowledged as a form of therapy and medical treatment.

Music Can Be Used To Manage Pain

Music is used to help patients with chronic pain. By stimulating the senses with music, this reduces the amount of pain that a patient perceives. As was the case with World War II soldiers, music helps to reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety, helps with relaxation, and improves mood.

Research has been conducted where patients listened to music before, during, and after surgeries and experienced positive effects. The Lancet published evidence from nearly 7,000 patients who had been participants in research involving the use of music during their operations and treatments. These studies showed that patients exposed to music displayed much less anxiety post-surgery as compared to those who did not receive the music therapy. Pain perception was also significantly lower and the need for pain relief was much less with the patients receiving music therapy.

The research observed that playing music before an operation had the best effect on patients as compared to during or after, but music use at any time for a surgical procedure had significant benefits. Allowing patients to select their own music also had a slightly higher improvement in pain management as compared to patients who did not choose their own music.

Playing Music Fosters Your Well-Being

Playing music on a piano or guitar, whether it’s Taylor Swift chords  or some other musician you enjoy, can have a positive effect on your physical and mental wellness. Playing any instrument facilitates your memory in particular. It has also been used in neurorehabilitation to improve brain functioning with musicians and non-musicians alike.

Our memory declines with age, so playing any instrument does help to upkeep memory performance. It is also thought that learning a musical instrument early in life has protective effects against later neurological decline that is inevitable with aging. Of course, playing an instrument is a great outlet for expression and can really boost your creativity. And it doesn’t only help you, playing music for others has positive health benefits for them. The guitar, in particular, has some interesting effects.

Playing Guitar Is Great For Your Well-Being

There are many positive aspects to being an ax player. Playing the guitar helps improves memory and it also improves concentration. It also helps to develop a person’s patience and perseverance as they practice and learn with the instrument. Playing the guitar improves your hand-eye coordination over time as you practice. It also strengthen your arms in various places. Your fingers and hands will become more flexible, while your wrists and shoulders become stronger.

Playing the guitar has been known to reduce anxiety and stress. Losing yourself by playing songs can transport you from your daily worries. If you are concentrating on learning those music chords you love, you likely are not stressing about your troubles or the world at large.

How To Get Started With The Guitar

If you are interested in learning a musical instrument, the internet provides an incredible wealth of information. Learning chords can be tricky, but there are plenty of online resources to help you make sense of the instrument. Using certain websites, such as Chordify, let you choose artists and play along with chords from their songs. In Chordify, you can also upload your favorite tracks and the site will strip out the chords of the song so you can learn them. The technology that exists today makes learning an instrument a lot more accessible.

Listening To Music At The Workplace

Employers should realize that music can help with productivity and improve the atmosphere in a possibly otherwise drab work situation. Research has found that music can improve focus, even surgeons are know to put on their favorite tracks in the operating room. It is very common for workers to zone out during  simple and boring tasks and productivity drops without employees noticing. Music helps to raise morale and keep people powering through mundane tasks.

Music Can Help People Lose Weight

In a similar way that music helps people more productive at the workplace, it also helps others grind through a workout. Upbeat or dance music assists athletes with hitting their goals and working harder. Music often has a very motivating effect for many people when they are at the gym or on the track. It takes the listener away from their current physical state — to ignore the discomfort and power through. If you’re not a person who likes to exercise, definitely consider incorporating music into our workout.

Music Is Powerful

Music is ripe with positive benefits for your well-being. Music has been known to improve the immune system, boost confidence, and even help many of us get over a broken heart. Music is an effective form of therapy, pain management, and a means to relieve the symptoms of depression. Music can be an extremely positive force that can change lives for the better.

More From Brain World

• Easy Listening — The Neuroscience of Music: An Interview with Dr. Daniel Levitin
• Finding A Song: The Subconscious Art of Improvisation
• Healing Music: An Interview with Stanley Jordan
• Music, Rhythm, And The Brain
• Notes to Live By: Why Your Brain Craves Music
• What Learning Music Does For Young Minds