If you had to listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Music is an integral part of society and culture and has links to health. We listen to music when we wake up, get ready for the day, travel, exercise, celebrate, and mourn. Music is strongly connected to our memories and is often used for expressing emotional states. Through music we can express joy and elation, as well as using it to self-soothe through heartache and stress.
It is well-known that high stress is linked to both physical and emotional ill-health. Interestingly, anxiety is one of the most common diagnoses for people in already in medical care or undergoing treatments. Cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, depression, burnout, and addiction all have correlations with increased stress. These conditions often lead to work absenteeism, hospitalisation, and family strain. Desperate, many look to medications for relief. While necessary in some circumstances, these can have side effects. Therapy is another effective pathway to healing and a great way to learn adaptive coping strategies and feel supported. Sometimes though, these pathways can take time. Many researchers are investigating fast and cost-effective treatments that are sound (excuse the pun) and accessible to the everyday individual.
Interestingly, in ancient Greek mythology, one being is attributed to caretaking both healing and music. The two concepts were seen as irrevocably intertwined. In more recent times, using music as therapy has gone in and out of fashion in the complementary medicine space, and now in the psychological science field, there is a greater focus on empirical investigation and evidence-based practice. It’s been found that music can be a natural stress reliever!
Although this may be something we have all felt, how exactly does music aid in healing our emotional and physical states? Important factors in understanding stress and stress relief are divided into two main groups: physiological arousal and emotional responses. These are thought to be driven by physical systems such as heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels, as well as emotional experiences like worry, nervousness, and restlessness. Music can actually calm our nervous system by relaxing our heart rate, lowering blood pressure, reducing cortisol, and calming our amygdala, otherwise known as the emotional brain. Music can help release endorphins and therefore promote a sense of well-being. Another way music can ease high stress is by acting as a distractor from negative thoughts and feelings and increasing positive focus and concentration.
We agree that listening and creating music can be a great way to cope with bouts of anxiety, however the question stands, is all music created equal in the therapeutic space? Research indicates that some music is better than others at calming and stress relief. These factors include slower tempo, whether it is instrumental or has lyrics, content of lyrics, and whether you are listening live or to a pre-recording. Another factor that matters when using music as therapy is whether you like the music or not. Listening to music that you enjoy increases dopamine production and contributes to feelings of pleasure and happiness. In addition, it has been shown that listening to music that you like in groups can help to increase social cohesion. Increasing feelings of connectedness and relatedness among groups leads to positive mental health outcomes too. Our happy hormones literally get a boost when we feel a sense of belonging. Notably, music is not the only alternative way to self-soothe anxiety. Other mind-body strategies to alleviate symptoms of anxiety include meditation, prayer, massage, tai chi, and having a good chuckle! These strategies have various physiological and emotional benefits including increased circulation, focus, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and pain relief.
Here are some tips you can use when implementing your own music as therapy:
Listen to slow tempo music, similar to the pace of a steady heartbeat (60-80 bpms)
Focus on rhythm and instruments
When choosing lyrical music, choose words that calm you
Listen or create music with others
Attend a concert or performance live
Include movement and dance
One of the amazing conclusions about this research is that music and other mind and body strategies can be as similarly effective as psychological interventions and medications in the short-term. Meaning that music can be an immediate and effective relief from symptoms of anxiety. If you want to get the most out of music as healing, speaking with a psychologist is a great way to learn how to navigate and apply these self-soothing strategies in your life today.
References
de Witte, M., Spruit, A., van Hooren, S., Moonen, X., & Stams, G.-J. (2020). Effects of music interventions on stress-related outcomes: a systematic review and two meta-analyses. Health Psychology Review, 14(2), 294-324. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2019.1627897
Gutiérrez, E. O. F., & Camarena, V. A. T. (2015). Music therapy in generalized anxiety disorder. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 44, 19-24. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2015.02.003
Harvard Health Publications. (2015). Music as medicine: the impact of healing harmonies. Longwood Seminars. Retrieved from https://hms.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/assets/Sites/Longwood_Seminars/Longwood%20Seminar%20Music%20Reading%20Pack.pdf
