Every Black Music Month we celebrate our favorite artists and do that famous artists roll call like Senor Love Daddy (Samuel L. Jackson), the DJ in Spike Lee’s classic “Do the Right Thing.”
Yes, we love us some music and the artists who make it. But it turns out, music loves us back!
So, while celebrating the songs and the singers/musicians/bands, let’s start putting some respect on music’s name for another reason. Sure, music makes us feel good, but music literally makes us heal good.
Music can literally heal us physically and mentally. Music can improve heart health. Music can lift our moods. And you know what this means, right? That the song “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life” was spitting truth and we didn’t even know it.
But our ancestors did. That’s why they venerated the drum, the first instrument; because it got us all on beat, on one page, on one accord, singing the same song (the uni-verse). And in that coming together, in that fellowship, we found healing—guided by music.
But let’s break down the top ways scientists and physicians have researched and documented why music is good for our mind, body and spirit health.
MUSIC AND YOUR HEALTH
Our physical, psychological, and mental health can be affected in various ways by the music we listen to. From music therapy now offered in many school districts based on sound research to music artists visiting patients in hospitals, songs can be healing and even prevent long-term illness.
Physical Health
Listening to music affects our physical health in many ways, from calming our heart rate and blood pressure to reducing pain. Even singing a song to an infant as they fall asleep can help them get through the night peacefully.
Balance: Many older adults experience uneven gait or will fall at some point during their lifetime. Those with conditions such as Parkinson’s are at even higher risk for falls. Walking with music has been shown to improve gait when balance training during physical therapy.
Heart Rate: A study published in 2022 by Cereus found that classical music affects the autonomic nervous system, triggering a calming reaction that can reduce the heart rate. This is especially beneficial for those with heart disease.
Blood Pressure: The same study noted a decrease in blood pressure. Over 80% of those taking part in the study found that fast-paced dance music had a positive impact on mood, lowering their stress level and blood pressure.
Pain: In a meta-analysis of nearly 100 studies, a researcher from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea found that music had a significant impact on chronic pain relief. It seemed to help more than some opioid and non-opioid pain medications in some instances.
Endurance: It’s believed that music may help stimulate the body during cardio and strength-building exercise to help increase endurance. This could possibly be affected by increased motivation, a psychological effect of listening to music.
Sleep: Sleep quality is significantly improved in both children and adults when listening to calming music before bed. Relaxing music prior to sleep results in less sleep disturbance throughout the night for a more restful night.
Psychological Health
Music also affects our psychological health, helping to increase our brain’s functioning and improve performance, from learning to creativity to motivation.
Cognitive Performance: Interestingly, not everyone performs better during mental tasks while listening to music. If you are one of the many who learns better while enjoying the amplified sounds through your headphones, it could be that music helps to improve your cognitive performance.
Creativity: The same way music affects cognitive performance, it can enhance divergent thinking, which is a key element of creativity, especially when it comes to artistic work.
Motivation: Music affects the entire brain, making it work more efficiently and strengthening the neural pathways that connect the various areas, such as the cerebellum and limbic system. In other words, music gives your brain a mental boost.
Mental Health
When we think about listening to music and how it affects us, most of us think about our mental health. Listening to the music a little too loud on the ride home from work can be cathartic if you’ve had a hard day. A breakup playlist might be just what you need if you’ve had your heart broken. Or perhaps you have an exciting road trip playlist ready for that long drive to visit a friend. Pressing play on the right song might be just what you need if you find yourself in need of a mental health boost.
Mood: Music can influence your moods by either playing into the emotions you are feeling, allowing you to release them, or giving you a way to disengage from the mood of the moment, distracting you for a moment so you can process them later. This is a healthy way of coping with strong emotions so long as you come back to revisit them when you are able.
Stress: The University of Nevada describes the scientific reasons music helps us relax from stressful situations. Certain songs may help the brain’s alpha brainwaves sync to the beat, creating a rhythmic flow that is only present when we are conscious but relaxed.
Depression: Medical News Today reports that music therapy helps to support medication and talk therapy for those experiencing depression, making them more effective at lifting mood by increasing levels of dopamine.
Anxiety: The same article explains that music therapy can reduce the levels of stress hormones, which can reduce symptoms of anxiety. Results can be seen immediately whereas other anxiety treatments could take weeks or months to be effective.
Serious Mental Illness: SMI includes such diagnoses as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, and borderline personality disorder. Nearly 350 studies reviewed by Frontiers in Psychology showed music to be beneficial in treating severe mental illness.. It has far-reaching benefits when treating them alongside medication management and talk therapy.
And yes, I realize this article offers more than 10 reasons why music is good for our health. But that’s just how powerful music is—it always gives us so much more than we need.
(Source: Blackhealthmatters.com)
