9 Benefits of Music For Health

Music is capable of a number of health benefits including lowering stress levels, raising states of consciousness, changing moods, accessing different states of mind, developing the brain and is useful in meditation -which has a ton of health benefits.

Now, scientific studies have shown that music really can change our mood and even help us concentrate.

Here is 9 Benefits of Music For Health

1.   Music Makes You Happier
Listening to music that hits you in a special way causes your brain to release dopamine which is known as a feel good chemical. It causes us to feel emotions like happiness, excitement, joy, etc. Listening to music provides us with the same burst of happiness that we would get from eating a piece of chocolate, sex or certain drugs.

Another study showed that music with a quick tempo played in a major key made people feel happy, while music with a slow tempo in a minor key more easily led to feelings of sadness.

2.   Ease pain. 
Music can meaningfully reduce the perceived intensity of pain, especially in geriatric care, intensive care, or palliative medicine (an area of healthcare that focuses on preventing and relieving the suffering of patients).

3.   Focus
Music may even be able to help you concentrate.
A new 'digital tonic' called Ubrain, which can be downloaded onto smartphones, claims to be able to help people focus, energise, wake up as well as relax.

The process uses two different beats in each ear to create a third 'perceived' beat (a binaural beat), which can stimulate certain activity in the brain.

4.   Improves Sleep Quality
Some of the most common things to interfere with sleep are stress and anxiety (heart rates.) Since music has the ability to affect both in a positive way, research has found that listening to music at various times promotes better sleep patterns for people and even created more restful sleeps. In some cases music might even be able to be used to effectively treat insomnia. [8]

5.   Increase workout endurance. 
Listening to those top workout tracks can boost physical performance and increase endurance during a tough exercise session. This works partly through the power of distraction: When we're focusing on a favorite album, we may not notice that we just ran an extra mile.

6.   Better mental healthThere are two distinct ways music therapy is used: either as a means of communication and self-expression or for its inherent restorative or healing qualities

Someone who is very withdrawn may find that music can act as an outlet for expressing things that they're unable to put into words. It can also act as a stimulus to awaken buried memories or evoke emotional responses that may take weeks to achieve with talking therapies.

7.   Reduces Depression & Anxiety
Researchers from Drexel University found that cancer patients who either listened to music or worked with a music therapist experienced a reduction in anxiety, had better blood pressure levels and improved moods. Music can have positive effects on the psyche, mood, pain and quality of life as well.

8.   Ease recovery in stroke patients. 
Researchers in Finland concluded that when stroke patients listened to music for two hours a day, their verbal memory and attention improved and they had a more positive mood compared to patients who didn't listen to music or who listened to audio books.