Influencing the Mind-Body Connection with Music
Did you know that music therapy is increasingly being used as an intervention for stress reduction in both medical and mental healthcare settings? Research demonstrates that music therapy has proven effects on our health and wellbeing, including reducing stress in those facing a life-changing diagnosis like cancer. What is "music therapy” you might wonder? Music therapy can be characterized by tailored music interventions that are provided by a certified music therapist. Examples include listening to music, playing an instrument, writing and singing songs and more. But you don’t have to see a music therapist to start benefiting from the power of music. Below are some of the benefits of incorporating more music into your life.
Various studies demonstrate that it can lower our heart rate and cortisol levels (known as the "fight or flight" hormones). Music can reduce stress-related symptoms and give us feelings of ease and inspiration. Due to lowering stress and improving our mood, the body produces increased immune responses.
It can also help us process our emotions and have an influence over them. Studied examples of this reflect how if we listen to sad music, most will experience sad feeling that vicariously arise. It can also lift your mood through releasing dopamine in the body thus affecting feelings of satisfaction, motivation and happiness.
Music reduces symptoms of depression, therefore it is increasingly being used for its benefits on neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Research demonstrates that background music such as instrumental tracks can improve performance of cognitive tasks and improve memory.
It can even improve sleep quality through the use of white noise to help drift to sleep. It has been shown that listening to relaxing classical music is an effective intervention in reducing sleeping problems.
Some ideas for incorporating more music into your life:
Put together a playlist of your favorite artists and composers. Or have friends join in by making a shared playlist that you can all enjoy together. See below for some of our Wellness Within staff favorites to get you started.
Put on some upbeat music that makes you want to move, shake, or dance.
Find one of many apps or machines that provide white noise to help aid you to fall asleep for improved sleep quality.
Come to Wellness Within's upcoming Music & Meditation class on May 11th at 1:30 PM PST. It will include a Mindfulness Meditation practice with instructor Jan Webb, accompanied by live harp music by certified Music Therapist, Lisa Stine. CLICK HERE to register.
Come enjoy the healing power of music & friendship in the new supportive group led by Music Therapists Lisa Stine & Laura Caravello at Wellness Within starting on June 13th at 2:00 PM PST. Here you will learn to play the harp, and when we say "play", we really mean it! They create a relaxed, joyful, and encouraging environment where Lisa explains that, “the harp is truly a magical instrument – even simple tunes are fun, and nothing sounds bad on it." Research has shown that cancer patients engaged in music therapy experience a decrease in anxiety, depression, pain and fatigue. And if you are someone who may find yourself questioning if you can play the harp, the answer is "YES YOU CAN!". CLICK HERE to register.
Find an musical instrument that you’ve always wanted to play, and start taking lessons. There are many online lessons now available these days to get you started even. Or if you already know how to play an instrument, get to groovin!
Some Wellness Within staff favorites:
Elizabeth enjoys Classical music with some of her favorites being Aaron Copeland (Rodeo & Appalachian Spring), Prokofiev (Romeo & Juliet Suite), Max Richter's remix of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, especially Spring which "makes me smile and want to dance!"
Stevie loves all music but particularly enjoys Alternative/Indie Rock, Folk and Blues. Some favorites include Alexi Murdoch, Andrew Bird, Nick Drake, and Cat Power.
Marilyn enjoys Jazz music including Vilvadi 4 Seasons which is her go-to study music. Another favorite is Brandenburg Concerto. She states, "the Tambourine Guy in this video is what I feel like when I hear a song that touches my soul." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QulDKSFRMVA
Kim likes rock music from the 70's, 80's and 90's. She also enjoys New Wave from the 80's, jazz and classical music. Her current music taste is anything by the band Coldplay.
Shankari loves listening to the Beatles, Rod Stewart and country music too. She recognizes it really depends on how you are feeling or how you want to feel. She states, "there are some songs that just take me back in time to my childhood, like songs from Abba or The Beatles. I like to listen to country music when we are taking long drives."
Abby is a self-proclaimed "Swiftie" and loves all Taylor Swift's music. Other favorites include Frank Ocean, Mac Miller and Noah Khan for some "chill pop vibes".
References:
“Music Therapy for Stress Reduction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Taylor & Francis, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17437199.2020.1846580.
Kawakami, Ai & Furukawa, Kiyoshi & Okanoya, Kazuo. (2014). Music evokes vicarious emotions in listeners. Frontiers in psychology. 5. 431. 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00431.
Harmat - 2008 - Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04602.x.
Aalbers, Sonja et al. “Music therapy for depression.” The Cochrane database of systematic reviews vol. 11,11 CD004517. 16 Nov. 2017, doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004517.pub3
Rebecchini, Lavinia. “Music, Mental Health, and Immunity.” Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 21 Oct. 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8566759/.
“Music Therapy for Cancer Patients.” Mount Sinai Health System, https://www.mountsinai.org/locations/music-therapy/care/oncology#:~:text=Music%20therapy%20can%20support%20the,reduce%20physical%20and%20emotional%20stress.