How Making Music Reduces Stress
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.
Johns Hopkins researchers have had dozens of jazz performers and rappers improvise music while lying down inside an fMRI machine to watch and see which areas of their brains light up. The advice “take a deep breath” may seem like a cliché, but it holds true when it comes to stress. For centuries, Buddhist monks have been conscious of deliberate breathing during meditation. Getting your blood moving releases endorphins and can improve your mood almost instantaneously. Exercise doesn’t necessarily mean power lifting at the gym or training for a marathon. A short walk around the office or simply standing up to stretch during a break at work can offer immediate relief in a stressful situation.
Nothing’s quite as validating as your tunes echoing through the food court or down the baked goods aisle. That’s part of how music is calming and can help you relax, pump you up during a run, or even help you focus at work or school. If you're feeling stressed, essential oils may help you relax or recharge. Music is certainly not a magical cure, nor is it a substitute for therapy, medication, surgery, or any other medical treatments. But music can be an important element of your well-being and self-care on a daily basis, as well as a helpful partner in dealing with more acute health conditions. Musicians, researchers, and music therapists have actually claimed to create “the most relaxing” song ever, called “Weightless.” But you’ll have to decide for yourself.
Music therapists work with a variety of patients of all ages. Like other forms of therapy, including art therapy, music therapists plan individualized sessions to help you meet your goals. "People are not only living longer these days, they want to remain healthy and active for as long as possible," said Antoinette Follett, editor-in-chief of "Making Music" magazine. According to a study published by the American Psychological Association, playing an instrument as a child keeps the mind sharper as we age. Instead, take a tip from Dana Marlowe and simply jam away for the fun of it.
Studies show listening to music you can’t stand is a recipe for disaster at any tempo. But listen to an artist or album you love, and you’ll experience the calming powers relaxing sounds of sound. The slower a song, the more likely you are to experience deeper breathing, lower blood pressure, and a lower heart rate. Faster music has the opposite effect—pumping up your vitals and propelling you to move. Often, music used for meditation has a slow tempo, which can reduce heart rate, and also lower anxiety and stress levels.