Waterfall Sounds
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.
This kind of casual music-making can short-circuit the stress response, research shows, and keep it from becoming chronic. Stress starts in the brain and then kicks off a chain reaction that switches on the stress response in every cell of our bodies. Over time, these cellular switches can get stuck in the "on" position, leading to feelings of burnout, anger, or depression as well as a host of physical ailments. Along with inducing stress, Loewy says, the wrong music can promote rumination or other unhelpful mental states. One 2015 study from Finland found that music can bolster negative emotions—like anger, aggression or sadness—much the same way it can counteract these feelings.
"Music-making is linked to a number of health benefits for older adults," said Suzanne Hanser, chair of the music therapy department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In addition to helping human beings experience positive emotions, listening to music has also been associated with improving our physical health and well-being. There is good reason to believe that even more benefits are gained from music therapy when it is used not as a random activity, but as an intentional strategy to improve health and well-being.
Not only does it help people with shaking off their feelings of stress, but studies have also found that music can improve mental focus, improve the immune system, and help regulate pain. Another study—this one focused on cancer patients—concluded that singing can lower cortisol levels and improve mood through the release of endorphins. Music can have a profound effect on both the emotions and the body. Faster music can make you feel more alert and concentrate better. Upbeat music can make you feel more optimistic and positive about life.
When you are stressed, your body responds by releasing hormones such as cortisol. Scientists were interested in how music affects stress levels. A study from Austria’s General Hospital of Salzburg found that patients recovering from back surgery had increased rates of healing and reported less pain when music was incorporated into the standard rehabilitation process.
Conversely, naturalistic sounds, such as the ebb and flow of best guided sleep the ocean tide or leaves rustling in the wind, are reported as promoting relaxation. Researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School did a sound study on 17 healthy adults. The nature sounds correlated with an increase in the autonomic nervous system’s parasympathetic response or “rest-digest” response, which helps the body relax and function in normal circumstances. Thanks to science, this emotional range isn’t just anecdotal. Listening to music comes with tangible benefits, including a direct correlation between music and stress relief. Understanding the chemical reactions in your brain relating to sound is key to unlocking the calming magic of music.