I’ve always heard it said that music heals. Is that a line perpetuated by musicians and promoters, or does music actually have the capacity to improve the lives of its listeners?
According to scientists, people are hard-wired to respond to music. Music can help improve motor and cognitive function, reduce symptoms of depression, enhance sleep, ease pain and tension, and increase the body’s ability to heal. Because of its ability to penetrate the brain and body, music is the ultimate tool in your self-care toolkit.
Music can physically heal
Playing music—either making it or listening to it—can reduce pain and pain perception, boost moods, and calm nausea. The motor effects of music are largely visible and have been studied across many years, countries, and medical disorders.
Vibrations can reduce pain but just listening to music can decrease pain perception. This can help to reduce medication intake and help people control their pain.
Music can improve the likelihood of recovery after an invasive procedure. Researchers found that patients exposed to music during or directly after their procedures felt less pain and anxiety. Other studies have found that listing to calm music can improve muscle pain and joint fatigue.
Music is thought to stimulate the brain’s chemicals, many of which are the body’s natural painkillers. Studies suggest that music induces the release of opioids to ease pain. One study showed people experienced less pleasure from listening to their favorite song when given an opioid-blocking drug.
Some cancer patients have noted that it can subdue chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
The motor power of rhythm can also be therapeutic. People with Parkinson’s experience inconsistent movements or tremors. For some, these shakes can be alleviated through regular exposure to even-tempo music.
It can provide new language or restore speech
Music is often part of a stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI) therapy to help work around the injury. People can work their brain muscles by first singing their thoughts and then gradually dropping the melody. According to the American Music Therapy Association, you do not have to have a predisposition to music or the ability to play an instrument to benefit from music therapy.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s patients experience an improvement in their quality of life because they are able to recall memories, support clearer communication, and reduce agitation. Songs from the past can help them remember pivotal life events and create an opportunity to discuss their recollection. Soothing songs or familiar tunes can suppress anxiety.
Studies have also shown that people with autism can improve social skills using therapeutic songs. Music can be powerful for people with frontal lobe syndromes because they may not otherwise have access to the language or specific emotional states.
Music can mentally heal
The emotional effects of music are also quite visible. You’ve very likely seen someone’s mood shift while listening to music. Incorporating music into daily life has been proven to treat depression and anxiety, process and express emotions, block out unwanted stimuli, and energize you.
It can treat depression
Music can offer a natural remedy for depression. Studies have shown that listening to music can increase dopamine production and other chemicals in the brain. Dopamine boosts moods and is often used to treat depression.
Music is an outlet
Music therapy can help people process emotions, traumatic events, or stressors. Sometimes they play music for or with you, other times they can help you learn an instrument or compile a playlist.
While science has proven this fact, I’ve seen it in action in my own life. If I’m feeling sad or overwhelmed, music has helped me cope. Whether it is the comfort that someone else has gone through pain or a powerful beat that helps release anger, listening to music has been a constant in my self-care practice.
It blocks out noise
Music can soothe. Vibrations have the capacity to ease pain as well as anxiety, but it can also be used to drown out distracting noises. People wear noise-canceling headphones on airplanes to block out other passengers and noisy jets. Others listen to music while they work in a coffee shop to help keep focus and mental concentration. Music’s ability to block out outside influences can help people control the stimuli that they come in contact with.
It pumps you up
Many people cook with music playing. Runners use it to pace themselves to it–so well, that several marathons do not permit people to listen to music while competing! Cardio and dance classes use music to energize people through fun and lively beats.
The tempo, instruments, and music production all work together to naturally pump you up. Have you ever been sitting in a car when a jam comes over the radio? You probably started chair dancing before you even realized your body’s reaction to the music.
The philosopher Nietzsche remarked, “We listen to music with our muscles. This, at least, is something we can see. It is evident in all of us—we tap our feet, we keep time, hum, sing along, or conduct music, our facial expressions mirroring the rises and falls, the melodic contours and feelings of what we are hearing. Yet all this may occur without our knowledge or volition.”
Music can make memories and connections
The primary function of music in society is to bring people together. Music is collective. The communal stories told and familiar melodies inherently bind people. People sing together, dance together, and watch live shows together. Music tells tales, conveys feelings, and is an expressive art form.
It conveys feelings
Music triggers an emotional response.
Tell me you haven’t been moved to tears hearing Sarah McLachlan’s singing on the SPCA commercials or convinced to dance hearing ‘Despacito’?
Music can be an outlet for self-expression.
“I think music in itself is healing…It is an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.”
Billy joel
While there are obviously many well-known artists in every musical genre, musical expression has also created viral TikTok stars and Youtubers because of the power of connection through tone, tempo, and lyrics.
It makes connections
According to one researcher, “There are some singular attributes of musical imagery and musical memory that have no equivalents in the visual sphere, and these may cast light on the fundamentally different way in which the brain treats music.” When we listen to music, we create our own mental picture or relate it to a personal experience. While the lyrics and tempo remain unchanged, our emotional interpretations of the music create a connection.
How many jingles have you memorized merely from watching TV for an afternoon? Or melodies you can hum along to when the radio starts, even if you’ve never actively listened to the song before? These are simple illustrations of the power of music to make a connection without conscious action.
Music can be a powerful self-care tool
By now, we know that music can have a positive effect on both physical and mental health. It can also help us form connections, get in touch with emotions and language, or control stimuli. Because we know that music can reduce stress and increase feelings of happiness, it can be a very powerful tool in your self-care toolkit.
While there are countless studies on the power of music on the brain and body, music appreciation and enjoyment is subjective. Because of this, people should choose their own type of music depending on the self-care situation.
In most cases, relaxing music—music that is slow and steady—can offer the strongest positive effects. Such effects include reduced lower heart rate, slower breathing, and calmer nerves.
Consider adding slow-paced songs to your morning routine soundtrack or evening meditations. Listen to slow-paced music—songs within the 60-80 BPM tempo range—to promote relaxation.
Fun fact: the BPM for most songs can be found by simply googling “what is the BPM for [name of song]?”
Consider making different playlists for different occasions or moods. I have a ‘chill’ playlist I listen to during my night routine and when I have trouble sleeping or a ‘broadway today’ playlist when I want to scream-sing at the top of my lungs. Harness the power of music in your self-care!
Conclusion
Music heals. It is known for reducing pain and anxiety, helping with communication and speech function, improving social participation, reducing nausea, and promoting exercise and body function.
Music is powerful. Consciously harness that power in your self-care! Create themed playlists, add singing to your morning routine, figure out what songs are your go-to to wind down. xoxo Mo
