Music as Medicine
“MUSIC IS THE MEDICINE OF THE MIND”
We all self medicate with music whether we realise it or not. Many of us have go-to playlists for when we're feeling low on energy, dealing with a breakup or that hold special memories. But most of us don't fully grasp just how much we depend on music to manage our emotions on a daily basis or how powerful the scientific and medical evidence is to support music as a form of therapy.
Numerous studies have revealed that humans are hardwired for music and that there is no other stimulus which positively activates so many different regions in both hemispheres of the human brain simultaneously. The research also states that it has a unique capacity to boost mood and memory.
This is because listening to music elicits a variety of chemical reactions within the brain that contribute to relaxation and increased wellbeing. For example it lowers the levels of cortisol (a hormone that contributes to feelings of stress and anxiety) in your body and also triggers the release of dopamine in your brain (dopamine is a neurotransmitter that promotes feelings of happiness and excitement). Studies have shown that listening to music before going to bed significantly improves sleeping patterns and can be an effective treatment for insomnia. As sleep is a natural stress-reducer, it sets up a positive stress reduction cycle; listening to music lowers stress which leads to better sleep, which in turn also reduces stress.
Research has shown that music has the ability to alter the speed of brainwaves and produce brain activity that has a therapeutic effect on the mind and body. In particular music with a slow tempo and a repetitive, recurring pattern (ostinato) alters brain activity in a way that induces a trance-like state similar to that of meditation and hypnotism, which encourages relaxation. This ability to alter brainwave speed has also been shown to ease the symptoms of migraines, depression and behavioural disorders such as ADHD and autism.
Music has been proven to have a huge impact on a broad spectrum of neurological conditions. It is known that certain soundscapes influence the brain in different ways but it is not currently fully understood how or why. There are a huge number of ongoing research projects all over the world looking into all aspects of music to better understand which elements specifically impact biometrics such as heart rate, brainwaves and sleep patterns. This is in order to create music as a precision medicine to treat everything from pain to PTSD.
Music therapy is not a modern concept, it was a standard form of treatment in ancient Greece. The physicians of antiquity believed that music had a therapeutic influence and could be used to restore harmony within the body, mind and soul. For example patients in manic states were often instructed to listen to the calming music of the flute, while those suffering from depression were prescribed listening to music played on the dulcimer.
I can definitely think of worse medicines to be prescribed in the ancient world! What do you think of the Dulcimer? Have you heard one before? Let us know in the comments below.
