Have You Heard it? Music Helps Our Emotional Well-Being

BY: Neighbors’ Consejo|

Music is a fundamental factor of daily life, as it helps to build social relationships and in general provides infinite benefits for human health. For example, it has been shown that people with a mental disorder have improved considerably by undergoing “music therapy[1] “. What particular benefits does music have for our emotional well-being?

Music improves heart rate, motor skills, allows stimulation and improves the immune system. On the other hand, if this type of therapy is compared with others, the costs are lower and do not require medication, which carries huge benefits for the patient. And, we do not need to be a “patient” to enjoy music, for example, when a mother places music on the baby in her womb, it has been shown that at the time of birth their bonds are stronger[2] .

Music therapy allows people with verbal communication or social relationship difficulties to overcome these difficulties thanks to the situations that the musical environment contains, such as the use of the voice, the use of musical instruments or body movements[3] . These benefits do not distinguish between age groups, helping children and young people, adults with learning disabilities, people with autism, the elderly, and people in general with their sadness, anxiety, depression, etc.

Furthermore, a study carried out by the University of Cambridge, [4] published in The British Journal of Psychiatry in 2011, found that music used in treatments for mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression or schizophrenia allowed motivating patients to engage in relationship building and emotional expressiveness.

To sum up the benefits that music brings to our emotional well-being[5] : music can improve cognitive performance; it can reduce stress; it can help us eat less; it can improve our memory; it can help us control pain; it can help us sleep better; it can improve motivation; it can improve our mood; it can reduce symptoms of depression; and it can improve endurance.

References

 [1]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666354621001770

 [2]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666354621001770

 [3]https://www.bamt.org/music-therapy/what-is-music-therapy

 [4]https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/A1CD72904929CECCB956F4F3B09605AF/S0007125000256110a.pdf/div-class-title- music therapy-individual-for-depression-randomized-controlled-trial-div.pdf

 [5]https://www.verywellmind.com/surprising-psychological-benefits-of-music-4126866

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