Musical Medicine
This month, we’re taking a closer look (or should we say listen?) at one of our favorite things: music. We all know the effect music has on how we feel. Of course, great music can open the door to the gamut of human emotions. But to put it simply, listening to music just makes us happy!
Interestingly, as the UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center points out, music helps us be healthier, too. The Greater Good was kind enough to let us share some of their fascinating findings about music’s health benefits. Here’s how the simple act of enjoying music can help us all improve our well-being: (If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the Greater Good’s full article here.)
Music Can Reduce Stress and Anxiety — Several studies revealed that listening to music reduced participants’ cortisol and systolic blood pressure, as well their reported feelings of anxiety and stress.
Music Can Reduce Pain –Along with stress, studies show that listening to music can be an analgesic! Patients recovering from surgery or dealing with painful conditions like fibromyalgia were prescribed a regular music-listening regimen, and reported feeling less pain those who weren’t given the music prescription.
Music May Boost Our Immune Systems — Greater Good notes that these findings are preliminary, but a few small studies showed that participants who listened to music had higher levels of antibodies and lower levels of harmful proteins in their systems than those who did not.
Music Might Play a Role In Memory — Studies on patients recovering from stroke or suffering from dementia showed that those who listened to music or sang regularly showed improvements in memory and attention.
Music Helps Us Work Out — Has a great playlist ever helped you through a tough workout? Then you probably won’t be surprised to read about a UK study that found that participants who listened to motivational music (defined as rock or pop music) worked out longer and harder than those who didn’t have tunes to accompany their exercise.
Mindful Listening
Music is often in the backgrounds of our lives, playing quietly on our computers or on our car stereos while our minds wander away. But when we’re really paying attention to it, enjoying music is a wonderful exercise in mindfulness. If you haven’t had the luxury of being able to delve into a piece of music lately, here’s how you can do so and make it a mindful experience:
- Set aside some time to listen attentively, even if it’s just enough for a song or two.
- Find a setting in which you can concentrate totally on listening to music — no TV, text messages, or other interruptions allowed.
- Hit play on some tracks that you love, or on a track or album that you’ve never experienced before.
- Focus on the sounds and where the music takes you. You can pay attention to the tempo, melodies, the role of different instruments; there’s so much to hear! We recommend reading 4 Ways to Hear More in Music from NPR for tips on actively listening to music.
- Music can stir up our emotions and memories, so your attention may wander. If you catch your mind drifting away, gently bring it back to the piece itself. (One trick for this — try to pick out a specific instrument and try to follow it through the piece).
- As the music ends, take time to think of how it made you feel, and enjoy a moment of gratitude for the glorious presence of music in our lives!
Give this a try with some of your favorite music! Or take a listen to one of the beautiful live recordings posted by Oregon Symphony on SoundCloud! There are plenty of options there, but if you’re not sure which to pick, we think this recording from Gustav Mahler’s 3rd Symphony is a lovely piece to start with:
