Billy Joel, an American musician, once stated that music is “healing in its own right.” It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It is something that touches us all. “No matter our culture, everyone loves music.” This statement is universally true. Researchers around the world have been exploring its therapeutic potential.
Everybody can think of at least one song that triggers an emotion when they hear it. You might think of the song played at your wedding’s first dance or one that brings back memories of a hard breakup or loss.
“We feel a deep connection with music because it’s ‘hardwired” in our brains and bodies,” Barbara Else (senior advisor to policy and research at the American Music Therapy Association) told Medical News Today. “Rhythm, melody, and other elements are the foundation of music. – are echoed in our physiology, functioning, and being.”
It is not surprising that music has been shown to affect our mental health profoundly. McGill University researchers found that music can increase dopamine levels in the brain, a mood-enhancing chemical. This makes it an effective treatment for depression.
MNT published a study in The Lancet Psychiatry earlier this year that suggested that listening to hip-hop music – especially that of Kendrick Lamar – might help people understand mental disorders.
Researchers are increasingly finding that music therapy may have health benefits beyond just mental health.
This Spotlight examines some of the health benefits of music. We also determine whether music can replace or improve treatment strategies for specific conditions.
Reduce pain and anxiety
Bob Marley sang once: “One positive thing about music is that when it hits, you feel no pain.” Some studies suggest this may be true.
MNT published a report on a Brunel University study earlier this year that suggested music could reduce anxiety and pain in patients who had undergone surgery.
Researchers analyzed 72 random controlled trials that involved more than 7,000 patients who had surgery. They found that those who listened to music after the procedure felt less pain and anxiety. They also reported a lower need for pain medication.
This is not the only study that praises music’s ability to reduce pain. In March 2014, researchers from Denmark found music may benefit patients with fibromyalgia – a disorder that causes muscle and joint pain and fatigue.
According to the investigators, listening to calm, relaxing, and self-chosen songs “reduced pain significantly” in 22 patients who have fibromyalgia.
Music is believed to be soothing music. Although the mechanisms are still unclear, researchers believe that music triggers the release of opioids in the brain. These natural pain relievers are the body’s natural pain relief.
McGill University Canada’s Dr. Daniel Levitin and his colleagues discuss this theory in a 2013 Review. They cite research showing that people felt less pleasure listening to their favorite songs when given Naltrexone, which blocks opioid signals. This suggests that music can induce the release of opioids to relieve pain.
Stress relieving
Listening to your favorite music can make you feel less stressed. Many studies support this.
MNT reported last month that infants were calmer when music was played to them rather than being spoken to. This even happened when the baby talk was involved.
Professor Isabelle Peretz, from the University of Montreal, Canada, was one of the study researchers. She suggested that the repetitive music infants heard reduced distress. This could be because it promoted “entrainment,” which is the body’s ability to synchronize with external rhythms, pulses, or beats.
Another study conducted in 2013 found that not only did listening to music help reduce pain and
Researchers have found that music’s effects on heart rate and its potential to relieve stress have led many researchers to believe it may be beneficial for treating heart disease.
MNT published a report earlier this year on a study presented at the British Cardiology Society Conference in Manchester, UK. Researchers from the University of Oxford discovered that repeated musical phrases could help lower blood pressure and control heart rate. However, they cautioned that more research is needed in this area.
Music and Memory
Some songs can bring back memories of specific events or periods.
Researchers are now exploring the possibility that music can aid in memory recall.
A study published in the Memory & Cognition journal in 2013 included 60 adults learning Hungarian. The adult participants were randomly assigned to one of three learning tasks: speaking Hungarian words in unfamiliar phrases, singing the terms, or rhythmically speaking them.
The researchers found participants who sang phrases could recall them more accurately than those in the other groups. The authors conclude that “listening and singing” can improve verbatim memory of spoken foreign language phrases.
These studies have led researchers to conclude that music may improve memory recall in people suffering from cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s Disease.
In a study published in the Gerontologist Journal last year, the effects of music on memory recall in people with early-stage cognitive impairment was examined.
The research involved 89 dementia patients and caregivers randomly assigned to one of three groups: a 10-week singing coaching program, a 10-week music-listening coaching program, or regular care.