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Subject: How Music Can Improve Your Health
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:55:41 -0700
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How Music Can Improve Your Health
Suzanne B. Hanser, EdD
Berklee College of Music
E veryone knows the soothing effect of listening to a favorite piece
of music. But until recently, there was little scientific evidence to
support its effectiveness in helping to combat specific health
problems.
Now: A growing body of research has found that music can affect key
areas of the brain that help regulate specific physiological functions
necessary for good health. The best choice of music and the time spent
listening depends on an individual's needs and preferences. Medical
conditions that can be improved by listening to appropriate music...
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
The hypothalamus helps control the autonomic nervous system, which
regulates our breathing, heartbeat and other automatic responses in
the body. It also is linked to emotional activity. How music helps:
When a person listens to music that stimulates positive memories and/
or images, the activity of the hypothalamus helps slow a person's
heart and respiration rates as well as blood pressure.
Scientific evidence: In a study published in the British Journal of
Health Psychology, 75 adults performed a stressful three-minute math
problem. Afterward, they were randomly assigned to sit in silence or
listen to classical, jazz or popular music. Those who heard classical
selections had significantly lower systolic (top number) blood
pressure levels than those who heard no music. Blood pressure did not
significantly improve in people who listened to the other selections.
What to do: Observe how you respond to different types of music. Match
your state of mind to the tempo and dynamics. Example: If you are
agitated, listen to something with a strong, fast beat, then gradually
switch to slower and softer music. This can reduce stress and lower
blood pressure.
INSOMNIA
Although healthy adults typically fall asleep within 30 minutes,
adults age 50 and older often have more trouble falling -- and staying
-- asleep. How music helps: Soft, restful music can act as a sedative
by reducing the amount of the stress-related neurotransmitter
noradrenaline that circulates in the bloodstream.
Scientific evidence: Sixty people ages 60 to 83 who reported sleep
difficulties took part in a study at Tzu-Chi General Hospital in
Taiwan. After three weeks, researchers found a 35% improvement in
sleep quality, length of sleep, daytime dysfunction and sleep
disturbances in subjects who listened to slow, soft music at night.
The most effective types of music used in the study were piano
versions of popular "oldies," New Age, harp, classical and slow jazz.
What to do: Make sure your bedroom temperature is comfortable, then
lie in bed at your usual bedtime, with the lights out (light
interferes with the production of the sleep hormone melatonin) and
your eyes closed while listening to music. Experiment with different
types of music until you discover what's relaxing for you. If you wake
during the night, try listening to music again.
PAIN
Listening to music does not eliminate pain, but it can help distract
your brain by creating a secondary stimulus that diverts your
attention from the feeling of discomfort.
Scientific evidence: In a 14-day study published in the Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 66 older adults with osteoarthritis pain sat quietly
for 20 minutes daily, while another group listened to music. Those who
listened to music reported a significant decrease in pain.
What to do: For pain reduction, it's important to identify music that
engages you -- that is, it should elicit memories and/or make you want
to tap your foot, sway or even dance. Singing, which requires deep
breathing, or using a simple percussion instrument (such as chimes or
a drum), which does not require playing specific notes, also helps.
Bottom Line/Health interviewed Suzanne B. Hanser, EdD, chair of the
music therapy department at Berklee College of Music in Boston and
past president of the American Music Therapy Association and the World
Federation of Music Therapy. She is a research associate at the Dana-
Farber Cancer Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, also
in Boston, where she investigates medical applications of music
therapy.
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