Music is the one language that everybody all over the world understands. The songs may be in different languages, from diverse cultures, with different harmonies and melodies but people from every corner of the world will listen to them and they will strike a chord with them. Music is not only used to communicate or entertain, it can also be used to heal. In this article you will find out exactly how.
A lot of people may doubt this wondering how music impacts on their well being and even go as far as healing. The truth is it has a profound effect on the emotional, psychological as well as spiritual aspects of a human being.
Ancients healed many ailments using music. Clinical studies have proven that music accelerates the process of natural healing in patients at hospitals. Even babies do respond to music that is soothing helping them calm down and sleep.
When you feel stressed and anxious for whatever reason, most of the time you will pick up your earphones and listen to some music. The result is usually a calmer you. This is a healthy way to relieve stress rather than engaging in self destructive activities such as drugs and alcohol.
After a hard day’s work, you probably want something that will help you relax and unwind. Listen to the kind of music you like the most. Choose what you want to hear wisely as there is music for every occasion. You do not want to end up feeling worse than you already are. Even during exercise, music will keep you motivated all through.
Research shows that patients with conditions such as high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, labor pains, surgery and complications from old age, brain injuries as well as problems caused by substance abuse respond positively to music therapy.
Music therapy is the field of health care that uses music to heal. The way it works is that it helps patients with the above conditions to better manage their pain, calm them and prevent them from falling into depression or recover from it. It also promotes movement, eases tension within the muscles and generally speeds up recovery.
The effectiveness of music therapy is explained in the following ways:
There is no debate whether music inspires a positive state of mind. You have to try it if you have not already done so and experience it for yourself. Whether you are experiencing a bad day where everything is just going downhill or you just are not in the mood, there is nothing like sweet music to bring a smile on your face.
It can also increase your levels of creativity and optimism. Clearly, a dose of good music is all you need.
Music with strong, fast beats, according to research done, is said to bring sharper concentration making your thinking more alert. It will put you into a meditative state if the tempo is slowed down. This is because the strong beats stimulate the brainwaves to resonate in sync with the beat.
Music therapy can help prevent the effects of chronic stress which are usually fatal. As a result of the brainwaves being altered other changes such as slower or faster breathing and heart rate will occur.
Music has many other benefits such as boosting immunity, easing muscle tension, lowering blood pressure and hence greatly decreasing the risk of getting a stroke among other health problems.
It is important to undertake music therapy under the care of a professionally trained therapist. Using untrained people will be ineffective and can even cause more stress and discomfort with the patients. Patients should not however discontinue their medical treatment and rely on music therapy alone as this will lead to serious health consequences.
Music improves the lives of those who are healthy and boosts the recovery process of those that are ailing. It is inexpensive and there are no known side effects of listening to music; just don’t listen to very loud music in your headphones to avoid damaging your hearing.
All people irrespective of their age group will benefit from listening to music since it aids in relieving both mental and physical problems. Give music therapy a try and see how it improves your life.