THE RESEARCH MUSIC AS MEDICINE
The Research: Music as Medicine
First, music can be used to relieve pain in patients. For example,
surgery patients at the Cleveland Clinic that listened to recorded
music saw a 4x decrease in post-surgical pain. Music has also
been shown to reduce the amount of anesthesia needed during
operations.
Second, music can be used to relieve stress and anxiety. Calming
music decreases blood pressure, steadies the heart rate, and
eases stress. Research has shown that music can reduce stress for patients undergoing surgeries and colonoscopies, for children undergoing medical procedures, and for patients with coronary heart disease.
There is also preliminary evidence showing that listening to music can boost immune system function by decreasing stress hormones and increasing growth hormones. These changes should prime the body to be in a better state for recovering from and resisting illnesses, but the research is weak thus far and needs further investigation.
Finally, there are a range of studies that link music to happiness
and pleasure in different ways. Despite the differences in the
individual studies, the scientific consensus on the topic is that
music does stimulate the same areas of the brain that trigger
pleasure in other activities. A range of studies have found that
listening to pleasurable music stimulates the mesocorticolimbic
system in the brain, which is the same “pleasure center” that is
triggered by humor, tasty food, and even cocaine. In this way,
you could say that music is like a drug. If music makes you
happy, then it might be possible that it is good for your health.
These benefits sound great, but is music unique in providing
these benefits? Not really.
Given the current state of the research, it is not known if music
is any better at healing than other alternatives. Music is not the
only way to relieve pain or reduce stress. Music might work well
for Person A while meditation is better for Person B and deep
breathing or exercise help Person C. If nothing else, however,
music is another tool at your disposal when you want to relieve
pain, reduce stress, and promote healing.
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