The Physiological Effects of Music

Musical therapy is a great alternative to conventional treatment, which uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. Many healthcare professionals and researchers hold musical therapy in high esteem, but the physical effect of music is often overlooked.

Musical therapists use music to rehabilitate people and to ease anxiety of their patients. The American Music Therapy Association says that music can promote the wellness and quality of life for people of all ages, but especially help improve wellness among individuals with disabilities or disease. The American Cancer Society states that music therapy can help reduce pain and the symptoms that are induced by chemotherapy, helping reduce pain, anxiety, and nausea.

After a variety of clinical trials, it is evident, according to ACS that patients undergoing music therapy have reduce high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, depression, and sleeplessness. The physiological effect of music was observed first in the 17^th century. Stress Management by Edward Charlesworth and Ronald G. Nathan is a book that identifies in detail the causes of stress and suggests techniques to reduce stress, specifically musical therapy. According to Charlesworth and Nathan, the physical effects of music were first observed by a French musician, who took his pulse, noting the changes as he sang in different tempos.

A dual experiment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Indiana University titled Effects of Music on Physiological Arousal: Explorations into Tempo and Genre, has discovered that fast tempos elicit a greater response than slower paced music. Music has the ability to synchronize brain waves and aid in the neural patterns that involve in complex behavior such as walking or running, according to Music and the Brain: Processing and Responding by Feyza Sancar. This type of brain stimulation is responsible for the rehabilitating aspect of music, helping patients with immobility or difficulty moving to move with greater ease.

Stimulation of endorphins helps the effectiveness of music therapy, especially the stimulation of serotonin. Serotonin helps with smooth muscle movement by sending impulses from nerve to nerve, and regulation of recurring body functions. According to New Fitness, experts have found listening to upbeat music while exercising will help you enhance your results. Aerobic workouts, especially, use fast tempos to motivate, increasing heart rate.

There is no set genre or type of music that has more physical effect than another. According to Sancar, preference is incredibly important on the physiological effectiveness on an individual. The right brain auditory cortex specializes in determining harmonic relations and tones whereas the left brain auditory cortex organizes the sound. Different cultures have brains are programmed to recognize different melodies and harmonies, thus invoking a different response. Preferable music provokes more pleasure, response, and stimulation because it is more easily recognized and organized by the brain.

Music provokes impulses that stimulate the brain, so that mechanical functions are easier. This gives music a miraculous effect on the physiological aspects of an individual, aiding with rehabilitation, exercise, relieving stress, and being all around therapeutic.

Sources

Effects of Music on Physiological Arousal: Explorations into Tempo and Genre

American Cancer Society on Music Therapy

Charlesworth, Edward and Ronald G. Nathan. "Music for Stress Management." Stress Management. Random House, 1985. 377-79.

Sancar, Feyza. "Music and the Brain: Processing and Responding (A General Overview)." 1999. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro99/web1/Sancar.html>.