Spa Music
Even if you already know how awesomely powerful music can be, now you can explain it with sound science. A 2015 study compared the effects of music therapy with a therapist versus music medicine among people with cancer. Even though all music listening showed positive results, 77% of patients preferred music therapy sessions to just listening to music on their own. Contemporary research suggests music has significant power to help reduce stress and anxiety, relieve pain, and improve focus among many more benefits.
When you feel good, you’re more likely to relax and let go of your stress. This then helps you to deal with stressful times in a more calm and organized fashion. Listening to soothing music is a great way to help you wind down and relax before slumber. Sleep quality can also be boosted as wake up times during the night become less. You will wake up feeling much more refreshed in the morning as your body remains calm throughout the night.
"Music-making is linked to a number of health benefits for older adults," said Suzanne Hanser, chair of the music therapy department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In addition to helping human beings experience positive emotions, listening to music has also been associated with improving our physical health and well-being. There is good reason to believe that even more benefits are gained from music therapy when it is used not as a random activity, but as an intentional strategy to improve health and well-being.
Not only does it help people with shaking off their feelings of stress, but studies have also found that music can improve mental focus, improve the immune system, and help regulate pain. Another study—this one focused on cancer patients—concluded that singing can lower cortisol levels and improve mood through the release of endorphins. Music can have a profound effect on both the emotions and the body. Faster music can make you feel more alert and concentrate better. Upbeat music deep sleep can make you feel more optimistic and positive about life.
Listening to your favorite music may have more health benefits than you realize. Here’s how songs can reduce stress and help you heal. Researchers now know that playing a musical instrument can switch off the stress response, improving physical and emotional health. When our senses detect a possible threat in the environment, the body undergoes a chain reaction in which genes within each cell switch on, directing the cells to produce chemicals associated with the stress response.
Research suggests that music can benefit our physical and mental health in numerous ways. Music can be used as a therapeutic tool to not only reduce stress, but to also promote healing and improve one’s overall emotional well-being. Different uses may include listening to music, playing a musical instrument, singing along to music and using guided imagery with music. Innes coauthored a 2016 study that found music-listening could boost mood and well-being and improve stress-related measures in older adults suffering from cognitive decline. Her study compared the benefits of music to those of meditation—a practice in vogue for its mental-health perks. She found that both practices were linked to significant improvements in mood and sleep quality.