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Music and Health

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Are you getting enough of good music to benefit your body and mind?

Research has shown that music has a profound effect on your body and psyche. In fact, there is a growing field of health care known as music therapy, which uses music to heal. Those who practice music therapy are finding benefit in using music to help cancer patients, children with ADD (attention deficit disorder), and even hospitals are beginning to use music to manage pain, fight depression, calm patients and ease muscle tension,
 Airlines and hotel industries were quick to spot the benefit of soft soothing music on customers and started using it in flights and hotel lobbies. Their customers started feeling cheerful and stress-free with patient satisfaction surveys and business turnover showing mprovement.
 Studies have shown that patients waiting for endoscopic or surgical procedures are less stressed and have fewer complications if soothed and prepared with soft music. Further, surgeons undertaking high-risk challenging life-saving surgeries such as liver transplnation, heart or brain surgeries seem to perform better when soft music is played in the operation theatre.
 How does listening to music bring about these changes?
 Music with a strong beat can stimulate brain waves to resonate in sync with the beat, with faster beats bringing sharper concentration and more alert thinking, and a slower tempo promoting a calm meditative state. Young people therefore prefer fast loud “rock” music that provides the pep. The march tunes, such as Colonel Bogey, provide the much needed beat, pride and “valour” sentiments during march pasts.
 Further, with alterations in brainwaves come changes in other bodily functions. Those governed by the autonomic nervous system, such as breathing and heart rate can also be altered by the changes music can bring. This can mean slower breathing, slower heart rate, lowering high blood pressure and an activation of the relaxation response. This is why music and music therapy can help counteract or prevent the damaging effects of chronic stress, greatly promoting not only relaxation, but overall health. The chants such as Gregorian, Gayatri or even fusion ones can indeed wipe much of the frustration, anxiety and restlessness from your system.
 Music can also be used to bring a more positive state of mind, helping to keep depression and anxiety at bay. This can help prevent the stress response from wreaking havoc on the body, and can help keep creativity and optimism levels high.
 Which then is the best music for you? The answer can come only from your own heart. Each one should build and listen to his own collection, consisting of some for general listening (perhaps popular movie songs with beats, rhythm and melody, gazals, Rabindra-sangeet), some to bust stress or to support us in bad times (slow chants, bhajans, spiritual invocations), some for background music when stressed, or in office, hospital, aircraft (Kenny G is very popular, try some piano concertos, Strauss, our own rich Indian classical instrumental collection or jazz) , and some peppy ones when we want to lift our spirits and those of our guests as in parties.
 It’s no surprise that so many are seeing music as an important tool to help the body in staying (or becoming) healthy. Music is the medicine of the soul, so let it play on!
As published in HT City( Hindustan Times) dated 5 december, 2010.
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