Music has the power to help and affect your mental health. Music has been proven to help in moments of stress and worry. Have you ever felt down but as soon as you heard your favorite song you were immediately lifted? That is because music is more than what meets the ear. Researchers have found that music has a mental, physical, and spiritual connection to us.
Let’s start with the mental connection. Music has been used for therapy since the late 1700s. Some of us choose music as therapy to cope with a variety of things. Music has also been used to help people who suffer from certain illnesses and conditions such as dementia, autism, Parkinson’s disease and even cancer. Music has also played a vital role in helping improve communication and speech function.
There is a treatment called “Melodic Intonation Therapy” that is used for people who have suffered from a stroke. This form of therapy can help strengthen the connection between brain regions by training the mind to communicate rhythmically. Furthermore, music has been an effective tool in helping people heal. Music can trigger the brain to release a natural hormone called endorphins which help alleviate pain, reduce stress, and improve your mood resulting in overall better health.
Music also has a physical connection to the human body. Imagine you are in a car and music is playing but not your favorite song. Suddenly your favorite song plays, what is the first thing that happens? Some part of your body starts to move, and you begin to feel the song. This is what happens when music connects to us physically. We see this happening everywhere, at kids birthday parties and even in church when the choir starts to sing and the musicians start playing instruments. Music has a way of getting you on your feet even when you’re not thinking about dancing.
Lastly, I would like to address music and spirituality. Music has been known to affect emotions, actions, and thoughts. The spiritual connection to music has ways of altering human behavior whether good or bad. Listening to music when you are happy can make your spirit happy and you feel a sense of joy. Likewise, listening to music when you’re sad can make you feel even more down sometimes. This is because of the spiritual tie that music has with people.
The next time you hear your favorite song on the radio remember the mood you are in and how you felt after the song ended. Music can be both helpful and harmful, just depends on how it is used.
