Music can improve mood, decrease pain and anxiety, and enable opportunities for emotional expression and release. Research suggests that music can benefit our physical and mental health in numerous ways. At the studio, we hold Sound Baths on the last Sunday of every month.
In our Sound Baths, the singing bowls and gongs create vibrations at a specific frequency which flows through our body and brings us into into a deep, relaxed state, almost like a trance. You are actually being cleansed with the sound. The frequency and energy of your body adapts to meet the frequency of the sound which brings us into healing state.
But you don’t need to only be in a Sound Bath to benefit from the joy that is music! Here are some amazing ways that music impacts our health:
- It’s heart healthy. Research has shown that blood flows more easily when music is played. It can also reduce heart rate, lower blood pressure, decrease cortisol (stress hormone) levels and increase serotonin and endorphin levels in the blood.
- It elevates mood. Music can boost the brain’s production of the hormone dopamine. This increased dopamine production helps relieve feelings of anxiety and depression.
- It reduces stress. Research has found that listening to music can relieve stress by triggering biochemical stress reducers.
- It relieves symptoms of depression. When you’re feeling down in the dumps, music can help pick you up – much like exercise.
- It stimulates memories. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease or dementia but music therapy has been shown to relieve some of its symptoms. Music therapy can relax an agitated patient, improve the mood and open communication in patients.
- It eases pain. Music can meaningfully reduce the perceived intensity of pain, especially in geriatric care, intensive care or palliative medicine.
- It helps people eat less. Playing soft music in the background (and dimming the lights) during a meal can help people slow down while eating and ultimately consume less food in one sitting.
- It increases workout endurance. Listening to those top workout tracks can boost physical performance and increase endurance during a tough exercise session.
Reference: North Shore University Health System