The healing power of music
- rainbowsnsparkles
- May 30, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: Nov 9, 2022
"People are enamored with music. It touches our souls in profound ways that words alone cannot equal. It stirs our imagination, invigorates our bodies, and transforms our moods. It can lift us up or overwhelm us with emotion. It can make us feel down in the dumps or over the moon. It can pump us up, and it can calm us down." 2
Did you know
Songs associated with strong memories can activate the nucleus accumbens, the so-called pleasure center of the brain.
Relaxing music can lower the production of cortisol, which lowers stress and in turn lowers elevated heart rates and blood pressure. 1
Music also affects:
the default mode network, active during daydreaming and mind-wandering, responsible for autobiographical information
the hippocampus, which plays a prominent role in forming new memories
the prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and inferior parietal lobe — responsible for attention and working memory, focusing on and keeping track of music and time
various parts of the brain responsible for motor skills. 1
Scientific evidence suggests that music can have a profound effect on individuals – from helping improve the recovery of motor and cognitive function in stroke patients, reducing symptoms of depression in patients suffering from dementia, even helping patients undergoing surgery to experience less pain and heal faster. And, of course, it can be therapeutic. 2
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