Music has healing ability is not only an assumption or common opinion but it has been backed up by a lot of researches scientifically. Classic music has been proven to be effective and recommended for pregnant women to help them relaxing as well as assisting the development of fetal’s development. It is only one of the benefit of music, below is the list of health benefit of music which has been proven scientifically.
Music for Mental Health
- Anti-seizure Effect
Scientifically music has a lot of surprises and one of the benefits of music especially classic music is able to reduce seizure recurrence in children with epilepsy. In other words, classic music also contains anti epilepsy ability.
- Music to Reduce Stress
It is not just an assumption but research has proved that music has ability to reduce stress. Just by listening to music or song that you like is possible to relieve your stress because the sound of music will send message to the brain to release a hormone that act as biochemical stress reducers.
- Reduce Negative Emotion
The ability of music to reduce negative emotion and increase positive emotion is not something you could take for granted. Simple example what do you feel when you are stuck in a traffic jam? Just turn on your music and in instant you will feel a little bit relax even in the most impossible situation.
- Relieve Symptoms of Depression
Years of studies have proven that music therapy could contribute in provide motivation and emotional support. The same studies showed that group of people with depression who are attending music therapy session showed significant improvement compared to group of people who are not attending the music therapy session.
Music for Pregnancy
- Music Could Reduce the Risk of Post-Partum
There is still no specific reasons behind post-partum syndrome even a mother in the healthiest state of mind still has the risk of post-partum syndrome. Actually something as simple as music could reduce the risk of post-partum syndrome by stimulating the brain to be relaxed during pregnancy. Relax minds means clearer mind to face labor process that could be very traumatic.
- Reduce Stress during Pregnancy
No matter how happy a mother during pregnancy is there is always a moment when they are feeling stressful. Mostly it is closely related to hormonal problem and sometimes work pressure makes the condition worse. Music which has ability in reducing stress is good for pregnant women as well to make them feel relief.
- Good for Brain Development of the Fetal
Music is good for brain is already widely known even fetal in the womb could use music to relax. Recent studies that listening to classical music during pregnancy could affect the brain development of the fetal. That’s why a mother should regularly listen to classical music for the sake of themselves as well as the unborn baby.
Music for Children
- Good for Children Brain’s Development
Scientists have been doing a lot of researches just to prove that music could affect children’s brain development. The same studies have shown that children who are listening to music regularly will have advance ability in class. It is due to the ability of music to stimulate brain to function optimally that is closely related to children’s ability in emotional development as well as academically like reading and math.
- Improve Children’s Memory
Music has ability in stimulating the brain to function optimally and memorizing is one of them. Research has shown that children who are learning or listening to music since early age will have better memory than those who are not.
- Build Children’s Confidence
Do you have children with confidence issue? Theoretically children with confidence issue feels like someone always better than them. Many experts said that probably music could help them in this condition by letting them choose one of musical instrument to learn. One more skill they could develop could assist in improving their confidence as well.
- Improve Children’s Patience
Teaching about being patience in children could be difficult. That’s why put them in a situation that required them wait their turn could teach them about the importance of being patience like putting them in an orchestra or music group whereas everyone has their own turn. Your children will learn that sometimes being patience and waiting for their turns will create a beautiful harmony and otherwise they are only causing a mess.
- Improve Children’s Social Skill
Children with music skills will be able to interact with other children much easier. Especially those who are accustomed to join a musical group in where they should learn to cooperate to create a harmony. They will learn to appreciate the importance of work in a team.
- Teach Children to be More Focus
Music, especially classical music is good for children because it could affect their concentration. It is because classical music has ability to improve intensity and the duration of concentration. Playing some classical tunes for your children when they are studying could help them becoming more focus on what they are currently doing.
- Teach Children about Discipline
One important thing about music is there is no gray area. It means that if the tune is wrong then it means what you do is wrong. Learning music could teach children about discipline as well, if they want to learn music then they should follow the rule.
- Teach Children about Self-Expression
There are lot of types of music and teach children about that will improve their awareness toward self-expression that music could be used to express happiness, sadness even anger. At least they know what they should do to express the negative feelings they have in positive way.
- Creativity Booster
There is always something new to learn in music and it could stimulate your children to always be creative. By learning new thing, they will experience something that they’ve never experienced before.
- Improve Visual and Verbal Skill
For children the development of their verbal skill usually affected by their visual skill. Verbal skill is closely related to memory ability and children is mostly using their visual skill to memorize whatever happens around them. Results have found that children who are getting musical training have better memory toward spoken words.
Music for Daily Life
- Music as motivator
If you are currently feeling cranky and not in the mood of doing something, why don’t you try to listen to your favorite tunes you will feel the different. It is due to the the ability of music theraphy as motivator.
- Increase Workout Endurance
It is true that music could increase the workout endurance. Music provides distraction during workout so you will not only feel like you are in a workout especially when you are listening to your favorite songs. To prove it, why don’t you try to workout with and without music? You will find that the differences are actually significant.
- Improve Sleep Quality
Believe it or not if you have problem with insomnia don’t use medication to deal with. Just enjoy classic music or any music that you love and it will make you sleep better.
- Good for Meditation
You love meditation surely you know that music could alter brainwave. Brainwave is a condition of brain that similar to a condition when you are in hypnotic state. Music is also containing healing ability by providing a therapeutic effect that will make you feel relax during meditation.
- Mood Booster
Music is also well known as a mood booster. Music could interact with people feeling much easier than you think. Music could improve your self-awareness and affect the mood regulation. However, it is still depending on the music you choose. If you are in sad state, don’t listen to the music with the same mood; choose something a bit cheerful to boost your mood.
Music for Health Generally
- Physical Relaxation
You just have a very long day at work. Don’t worry, just go home, put your favorite tunes on and enjoy the night. It is because music also able to relieve your tense muscle by releasing the tension.
- Ease Pain
Well, music is not a magical thing that will remove away your pain. When you are in pain, the condition will affect your brain as well and music has function to reduce the distress effect in your brain and as the result could ease the pain you feel.
- Good for Recovery
Since music has therapeutic effect that’s why listening to your favorite music during recovery after surgery or serious ill is highly recommended. Besides music could boost the mood it also could work as motivator so you will feel like you are getting better progressively.
- Good for Heart
Music could be used as heart therapy. Some researchers have been done to prove it by inviting some participants to listen to some types of music. Lively music will make their heart beats faster and when the music is switched to the slower one their heart beat is also slowing down.
- Reduce Blood Pressure
One of the ways to reduce blood pressure is by making sure that your blood vessel is in relaxing condition. Music could contribute to that by making the listener feeling happier. Don’t take happiness for granted because being happy could make you feel relax and increase the blood flow which will affect the blood pressure level.
- Could Aid People Eat Less
Are you currently in a diet program? Why don’t you add music as part of your diet program? Recent study has found that listening to soft music during eating will aid you to eat less because the soft and slow music will also affect the way you consume food. The softer the music the slower you enjoy your food.
- Immunity Booster
Music could affect your hormones as well by affecting your emotion. Listening to a certain types of music will assist your brain to create positive emotion which will lead to the secretion of specific hormones that function as immunity booster.
- Good Friends during Driving
Don’t ever leave your music player behind while driving. Driving could be stressful sometimes especially during traffic jam. Music could help you easing that cranky feeling by distracting you with your favorite tunes.
- Music Could Aids Alzheimer Patient
Music is not a magical solution for Alzheimer patient but some researches showed that music therapy is able to improve the memory in Alzheimer patient but it’s still depending on the severity. It is due to rhythm and tunes of music could trig some old memory because the music pattern could stay in mind in a very long time.
- Music Aids Stroke Patient’s Recovery
Recent studies have found the difference stages of recovery to stroke patients who are regularly listening to music during recovery therapy and those who aren’t. The difference is rather significant. The stroke patients who are listening to music regularly will recover faster than stroke patients who aren’t listening to music during recovery.
- Reduce Headache and Migraine
Headache and migraine is caused by some tensed muscles in your brain that’s why listening to easy listening or soft music is good to assist in reducing the pain caused by headache and migraine.
- Keep Your Brain Healthy during Old Ages
It is not only a common assumption but the fact that brain could keep your brain healthy during old ages is already proven scientifically. Listening to music during old ages is the same like exercising your brain. Besides that the tunes and music rhythm is able to trig old memory which could be used as therapy for elder with memory problem.
- Music Makes People Happier
Music has been proven to have a lot of ability to elevate mood or the opposite. It depends on the choice of music, the more you like the tunes of the music the better the function of the music that will assist in releasing the dopamine; type of hormone that is well known as chemical that will make you feel good, excitement, joy and happier.
Important Notes
Not all types of music are applicable for music therapy. Researches show that the slower and softer the music is the better because slower and softer music like classic has simpler pattern. Simple example according to some researches unborn baby likes to hear their mother’s voice but their favorite sound is actually the mother’s heartbeat because heartbeat has regular pattern just like in classic music.
It is true that the choice of music could be chosen based on mood but for music therapy session music with more beats is not recommended but for distraction like when you are in workout session and then music with more beats will be good for you especially music that you like. Below is a list of types of music that you could use as guidance of music choice:
Classical Music
Music classic is good for those who are currently in a stage of unhealthy mood like anxiety and stress. That is why classic music is good to be listened as lullaby before you sleep, during study or at work, for pregnant mother who is easily getting distress due to the pregnancy. Classic music is also good for baby’s brain development. Generally classical music is used during music therapy session, yoga class and any activities that are required meditation.
Acoustic or Instrumental Music
The function of acoustic or instrumental music is actually almost the same like classical the different is only perhaps the choice of songs. If classical then the choice of songs are all classic when instrumental is not always classic, modern song could be played in softer and slower tunes as well. So, it is just in the matter of choice. If you think classical music is too much for you because it is easily making you feel sleepy perhaps changing it into modern songs in acoustic or instrumental version could boost your mood better during studying.
Hard Beat Music
If you are currently in a stage of unhealthy mood hard beat music is so not recommended. It will make your heart beat faster. That’s why hard beat music is highly recommended if you are totally in the mood. Hard beat music is mostly used by people during workout session or during running session because hard beat music will affect your heart beat. The faster your heart is beating and then the more motivated you will feel. However, there are some exceptions like when you are stuck in a traffic jam, perhaps choosing hard beat music is more recommended then the classic one except if you have problem with emotion then don’t. Hard beat music could assist you in elevating your mood during stressful situation especially when the music is your favorite.
Those are three types of music that are summed up generally. Actually there are a lot of music genres like jazz, blues, indie, rock and so on but generally the three types of music mentioned above are what most people know about music. However, music is in the matter of choice and favorite. Everyone has their own favorite music genre and each of those genres will affect each person differently as well. Learn about what your favorite music is important so you know what kind of music that works best with your mood. Furthermore, for specific condition like when you are currently attending music therapy then discussing it with the professional is still necessary.