Music Effect on Our Physical, Mental and Social Health - Essay Example

There is a certain perception of people regarding music that it is a form of entertainment and is only played for entertainment purposes. But surprisingly, there is more to it as several researches have revealed that music is a component of life and it marks many interesting areas where science and technology hasn’t even touched upon. People throughout the world follow and listen music regularly. It is supposed to a very important friend of a person when they are alone and helps a person relax and open the windows of mind as well as think clearly. We listen to music either when we are sad or happy but music can be used for various other purposes. As research suggests that music has many physical, mental and social effects on human health, therefore it has become important for the scientists to dig even deeper and discover the hidden powers of music to utilize it for the welfare of the mankind around the world. We will discover each of the benefits of music step by step in the following paper. Physical Health: Music has the characteristics and elements to reduce the pain of an individual. It can be used as a soothing therapy for those under intensive care, geriatric care, or palliative. Another amazing benefit of music, especially for bikers, is that it encourages them to work harder while biking. Since, music has the beats and elements that can increase the blood flow and reduce stress so the person biking collects more and more energy and therefore can bike better while listening to music. A research conducted by the University of Liverpool has found that music increases the blood flow to different part of the body including heart and other body muscles which keeps them healthy and fit. Due to the same reason many doctors recommend pregnant women to listen to pleasant music during pregnancy. (Stamper, 2014). Another advantage music can provide especially to the runners is that it increases their motivation and performance. Carl Foster, a leading researcher at University of Wisconsin, describes the principle of ‘Entrainment (also called synchronization)’. He says, “Basically you get with the beat of the music,” “You want to step at the rate the music is playing or you want to pedal a cycle at the rate of the dominant beat of the music.” Therefore music increases the intensity of our efforts for doing work out and results in a better performance and quick fitness. According to Costas Karageorghis, Ph.D., from London’s Brunel University School of Sport and Education, music can increase the body endurance by 15 per cent and strengthens the internal mechanism of an individual. (Foster et al, 2010). Generally, the post-exercise phase is painful for an individual as he undergoes muscles contractions and stress during the intensive exercise which causes immense pain throughout the body after exercise. But music can ease the pain and speed up the post-exercise recovery in an individual. In such circumstances slow music is the best therapy as it relaxes the muscles and suppresses the pain one experiences. Consequently, the degree of different pressures on students are increasing with the passage of time which result in deprivation of sleep, fatigue, tiredness, depression, and other sleep disorders. According to an article published in Journal of advanced nursing, slow music is the best substitute for sleeping pills as it helps to avoid several sleep disorders. (Harmat et al, 2008). Furthermore, it has been studied that music can also induce dieting in an individual. This strategy is extensively used by most of the restaurants around the world. According to one study many variables at a restaurant can influence the eating pattern of people. The researchers of the study examined if changing the environment and atmosphere of the restaurant would affect the eating patterns of the people there. The lightning was made dimmer and the music played at the restaurant was turned softer. The results were astounding as the people who were the target audience of this research consumed lesser food. Because slowing down made them more focused and concentrated toward the fullness cues. However, the opposite can make them consume more food. Therefore, music not just effects the physical characteristics but it can also influence the behaviors of an individual. (Wansink et al, 2012). Mental Health: Music has tremendous effects on the mental health of an individual as well. Research has found that listening to music can decrease the stress, and anxiety levels by setting off biochemical stress reducers into the blood stream of an individual. On this basis, music is now increasingly used as a therapeutic agent to treat different diseases that might have grown because of stress and anxiety. Mental disorders may extend to age depression as well. According to an article published in the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, music has evidently decreased the level of depression in many patients. The article also recommends that music should be utilized by nurses to effectively treat people who fall victim to depression. But the effects of music may differ up on the type of the music being played. Research suggests that slow and classical music can be the stress reducer tool but if the music being played is heavy metal and techno then it can aggravate the situation even more. (Cervellin et al, 2011). Moreover, music is also known as a meditative tool, it has been found that slow music can change brainwave speed. This creates a certain kind of brain activity which is similar to the one identified when an individual is mediating. For ages music is used as a therapeutic tool used to relive the symptoms of migraines, premenstrual syndrome, and many other psychological disorders. Similarly, another function of brain is to influence the moods an individual undergoes. Studies state that music can aid the people to overcome bad moods and convert them into good moods. Each type of music has different effects on the mood, tension, and mental clarity of an individual. Music has been found to activate the pleasure center in the brain relieving one’s self of the tensions of the world. Different experiments have been performed on many species and the effects of music have been found to be soothing on animals behaving rather aggressively. Also, a person chooses the music according to their mood i.e. fast music in excitement and sow music when a person’s sad. One study reveals that designer music is the most effective in increasing positive feelings while at the same time decreasing the negative feelings. (McCraty et al, 1998). Mental health is associated with cognitive performance as well, and so to grow mentally it is important that one utilize his/her cognitive skills at the maximum level. Research has suggested that musical training in the early developmental phases of a child helps him/her to acquire long-term enhancement of visual-spatial, verbal, and mathematical performance. But music alone is not the indicator of cognitive development in an individual. Other variables include the genre of music, and the volume at which it is being played. Also, the influence of music on cognitive development is linked to personality types. A study conducted by Furnham and Bradley (1997) showed that individuals who are extroverts showed better performance than those who are introverts in the presence of music. (Schlaug et al, 2005). Social Health: Human beings by nature are social animals. They need to be connected to the world and people in it in order to survive. Stress and depression can take that away from a person by pushing him towards isolation and seclusion which makes his situation even worse. Therefore in order to be active socially it is important to avoid stress and depression, and these two as mentioned earlier can be prevented with the power of music. Musical concerts bring out people of all ethnicities together. People following different genres of music have their own communities where they interact and share ideas and these people come together on one forum apart from their skin color or religion. In addition to physical and mental benefits, music can also polish the social skills in children. It teaches them to manage stress and be calm in a stressful situation and makes them patient. One rapidly growing disease in UK is ‘Dementia (a disease of forgetting memories)’. It is increasingly becoming a social concern for the aged people as it affects their relationships with the people around them. But the power of music has conquered this area of social health as well. According to Cellist Claire Garabedian, at the University of Stirling, music is the gate of communication and engagement it can enter those areas of the brain which are unaffected by dementia and brings out the memories that people cannot remember without the music on. In short, music helps people to get connected to their emotions in a better way and induces them to express their sentiments without any difficulty or effort. Works Cited Stamper, S. (2014, May 7). Musical training increases blood flow in the brain. EurekAlert!. Retrieved May 23, 2014, from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-05/uol-mti050714.php Foster, C., Pocari, J., & Anders, M. (September 2010). ACE-sponsored Research: Exploring the Effects of Music on Exercise Intensity. ACE Fitness. Retrieved May 23, 2014, from http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/805/ Harmat, L., Takacs, J., & Bodizs, R. (2008). Music improves sleep quality in students. Journal of advanced nursing, 62(3), 327-335. Wansink, B. & Van Ittersum, K. (2012). Fast Food restaurant Lighting and Music can Reduce Calorie Intake and Increase Satisfaction. Psychological Reports: Human Resources & Marketing, 111(1), 1-5. Cervellin, G., & Lippi, G. (2011). From music-beat to heart-beat: a journey in the complex interactions between music, brain and heart. European journal of internal medicine, 22(4), 371-374. Chan, M. F., Chan, E. A., Mok, E., Tse, K., & Yuk, F. (2009). Effect of music on depression levels and physiological responses in community‐based older adults. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 18(4), 285-294. McCraty, R., Barrios-Choplin, B., Atkinson, M., & Tomasino, D. (1998). The effects of different types of music on mood, tension, and mental clarity. Alternative therapies in health and medicine, 4(1), 75-84. Schlaug, G., Norton, A., Overy, K., & Winner, E. (2005). Effects of music training on the childs brain and cognitive development. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1060(1), 219-230. Read More