A. Hazrat Inayat Khan – a northern Indian classic singer- once said, “A person does not hear sound only through the ears; He hears sounds through every pore of his body, It permeates the entire being … In that way the physical body recuperates and becomes charged with new magnetism” (Mannes 167).
B. Our bodies may not become literally magnetic upon listening to music but something does happen. Whether we’re driving home and have our radio on at the highest level, have Spotify on when showering, or have our playlist on repeat when working out, music brings us a level of power, a level of energy, and it serves as doing more than just being a pastime.
C. Today I’m going to tell you about music and its relation to human physiology and its impact
What goes on in our body when we listen to music
1. Impact on hormones
a. To understand the relation of music to hormones, it is important to understand what hormones are. According to James Kalat’s 1998 book, “Biological Psychology”, hormones are a chemical that is secreted in most cases by a gland in our body and conveyed by the blood to other organs, whose activity it influences. Hormones serve as chemical messengers in our body that help with processes such as growth, and metabolism (Kalat 65).
b. Our body continuously releases hormones in response to functions we partake in. We release hormones when we’re stressed, when we’re intimate, when we exercise, and even when we listen to music.
c. The areas of the brain that are activated when we listen to music are the same areas that are activated by drugs and sexual activity. We love music so much largely because of the release of Dopamine in our brain, the same chemical drawing us to sex, drugs, and delicious food. Dopamine serves as the primary hormone associated with addiction and motivation. Music also releases neurochemicals prolactin known as the “comforting hormone”, and oxytocin, “the trust hormone” which is also associated with sex and bonding with other people (Mannes
A. In addition to reducing our stress hormones, according to many researchers, listening to music may be the key to good health.
1. According to Naomi Coleman’s 2015 article, “Why listening to music is the key to good health” in the Daily Mail, Coleman talks about ways that music may be able to help our health (Coleman 1).
2. First and foremost, before talking about how music may aid in alieving chronic back pain, it is important to know that music works on the autonomic nervous system, a part of our body which is responsible for controlling our blood pressure, heartbeat, and brain function, and also the limbic system, a part of the brain that controls our feelings and emotions.
3. When we listen to slow rhythms in music, our blood pressure and heartbeat slow down, helping us breathe more slowly and thus reducing muscle tension in our neck, shoulders, and back.
a. In the article just referenced, a study is discussed that was conducted by Austria’s General Hospital of Salzburg. In this study 65 patients with chronic back pain after back surgery were divided into 2 groups.
i. The first group received standard care while the second group listened to music and had visualization classes for 25 minutes every day for 3 weeks. When analyzing the results, the group who listened to music had a better pain relief than the group who did not (Coleman
Occasionally music is used as medicine. One scholar shows that music can lower blood pressure, speed up stroke recovery, help you fall asleep, and help relieve pain (Surprising Effects of Music). Many schools provide a challenging curriculum for their students. Music classes would give students a chance to relax. Research demonstrates that liste...
Whether you’re a devoted music enthusiast or you just listen to the radio to pass time, we all listen to music. However, when listening to music, nobody stops to think about what they are doing. Nobody stops to contemplate how the music they are listening to affects them psychologically. We just listen to the music and enjoy ourselves. In fact however, a great deal of research has been done to determine the psychophysiological effects of music. Many studies have been conducted to determine whether music can help people who suffer from psychological and medical disorders, Scholars continually debate whether music can influence behavior, and researchers are attempting to understand what is happening in our brain when we listen to music.
Have you ever given much thought about what goes on in the brain when you listen to music? Almost every human being listens to some type of music from country music all the way to religious music. Thinking about it, does music help with anything, is it just something humans like spending their time with or does it harm us in any way or form? I will am going to tell you about what the brain releases when a person listens to music, how music helps people with Alzheimer’s, and other small things that music does to the brain.
Music and the Brain: Processing and Responding (A General Overview). For any individual who either avidly listens to or performs music, it is understood that many melodies have amazing effects on both our emotions and our perception. To address the effects of music on the brain, it seems most logical to initially map the auditory and neural pathways of sound. In the case of humans, the mechanism responsible for receiving and transmitting sound to the brain is the ears.
Scott, Elizabeth, M.S. “Music and Your Body: How Music Affects Us and Why Music Therapy
singing along. As well as when someone is sad and starts playing sad music they begin to cry because it might make it worse. Oxycontin is a hormone than is referred to the “cuddle hormone” that is released by singing. Music is proven to increase dopamine levels(Researchers from McGill University in Montreal) and Listening to music can create peak increase the amount of dopamine, a specific neurotransmitter that is produced in the brain that can control your emotions and your response system. Music can also be an outlet for memory. In the movie “alive inside” it tell you how music can assist in regaining parts of memory and improve the brain health and quality of life in alzheimer's patients. A 2009 study at the university of petr janata found
Music stimulates multiple areas of the brain by provoking auditory, emotional, autonomic, and cognitive processing. Once the sound waves from the music are heard, signaling travels from the auditory system to the areas of the brain responsible for processing and dissecting the sound information. These areas are the primary auditory cortex, heschl’s gyrus, the frontal operculum, the superior temporal sulcus, and cortical language areas. Following sound processing, emotional processing of the sound heard takes place in the amygdala, cingulate gyrus, and medical orbitofrontal cortex of the brain. Feedback from the processed music can lead to physiological responses and changes in the autonomic nervous system as a result of the type of music heard (Nizamie and Tikka). For example, harsh, fast paced music tends to increase sympathetic nervous system activity (increased heart rate, faster breathing), whereas gentle, soothing music stimulates the body to relax, activating the parasympathetic nervous system (slower heart rate, lower blood pressure and slower breathing) (...
Music has been around since the very beginning of time. The human body flows in a rhythmic syncopation. Music is used to change one’s mood and to inspire those who open their minds. It has the potential to cure diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. Humans, of every culture and society, function with a type of rhythmic music. As humans, we are hard wired to respond to music (Mannes). The human brain responds to music in such a way that the brain becomes more open to new rhythms, ideas, and values. Music has the power to take over the human body. This makes it easier to overcome conflict and change the ideals of somebody while using music (The Power of Music).
Music is one of the few things that has remained constant through the centuries this world has existed. Not only does music provide entertainment, it also has several effects linked to it. Music allows emotions of happiness and sadness to arise. From those emotions, physical effects, negative or positive, can occur. Music has a profound effect on the emotional, social, intellectual, and physical aspects of a person.
No matter what you listen to, music has a way to “play with our emotions”. For example, if you listen to Tchaikovsky (classical) you may feel calm, and if you listen to Eminem (rap) you may feel hyper. If the music you listen to makes you feel good, it is good for you, Daniel Levitin, a Neuroscientist who focuses mainly on music, explains in an interview.
The first theoretical statement of the middle-range MMM theory is that music produces the psychological response of altered mood leading to improved health outcomes (Murrock & Higgins, 2009). Based on the musical elements of rhythm, melody, pitch, harmony, and interval there are psychological responses that are elicited once music passes through the auditory cortex of the brain to process it (Murrock & Higgins, 2009). The right hemisphere of the brain helps with response and cognitive recognition of music and in turn is able to alter the mood, leading to various health outcomes (Murrock & Higgins, 2009). In a stu...
Music is can be a very complicated and delightful at the same time. Music affects our bodies in several ways when engaging with it. The complicated and delightful apparatus we call music affect people physically, psychologically, and is great with healing emotional affliction, strengthens emotions, and is known to cure illness. Music also plays an influential role in the socialization of teenagers. Mainstream music is available practically everywhere. It is conveniently accessible over the internet, radio, individual recordings and other forms of technology
Chronic diseases are a problem for the mind and body. Not only are chronic diseases harmful to the body, they take a toll on a person’s psychological wellbeing. Depression, anxiety, and stress are the most common problems associated with chronic diseases. They are harmful to the body and inhibit recovery. However, the theory of music has been proven to decrease stress, depression, and contribute to improved health. Patients with chronic diseases who listen to soothing music have shown improvement in mood, emotion, and their overall psychological state, therefore enhancing their health. In order to implement this treatment, the medical team must consider the whole patient not just the physical and emotional but their age, spiritual beliefs, and music preferences. Then, the medical team can create a customized music therapy program into the whole medical plan.
Cooper, Belle. " How Music Affects and Benefits Your Brain."lifehacker.come. N.p., 11 22 2013. Web. 3
Music has incredible effects on the brain and body! Ever since the beginning of time, music has been around. It can influence the way a person thinks and behaves, and also social interactions. Teens are more susceptible to this (Revatto 1). Music can be used in therapy by helping people with depression, and can even be a more natural way to heal the body (“How Music...” 1). In some cases, songs and melodies can help or make diseases worse. Music is a powerful thing and can affect your brain and many other things in your body in numerous ways.