Music’s Superpowers

Photo credit: BenGrantham

Congratulations to all of our students who performed in our winter recitals on Saturday! I so enjoyed hearing all the wonderful performances and seeing the progress of each student since the last recital, along with the collective progress of our students as a whole. It’s always so mind blowing to me to see what our students are capable of. It truly reminds me of why I do what I do. I can’t wait until late April when we have our next set of recitals!

Before I get to today’s topic, I also want to wish anyone reading that celebrates Hanukkah, a very happy Hanukkah! I hope your holiday is filled with all things happy and good!

Now onto today’s topic….

It’s very well known that music has a multitude of benefits. I tend to mention a few of the key ones here and there in my posts. Today, I’d like to tell you about even more of the powerful and amazing abilities that music has. Since my husband loves comic books, I like think of music as a superhero that holds super powers.

Music’s superpowers include:

• Stress and anxiety reduction

So many studies have been done to show that listening to music lowers stress and anxiety. I recently read about one study where patients who were about to have surgery listened to music or took anti-anxiety drugs to help ease their nerves. The patients who listened to music had lower amounts of cortisol (the “fight or flight” hormone that makes us feel anxious) in their system, than those who just listened to music. Just think of how many people could benefit from listening to music to alleviate their stress rather than popping a pill?

• Improved Mood

This is why the entire field of music therapy has come into existence. Patients struggling with mental illness, substance abuse, Alzheimers, other traumatic brain injuries, and really just about anything benefit from the therapy that music provides. They can simply listen to it or use it as a creative outlet to express themselves.

• Pain Relief

This one is new to me, but I’m so glad I came across it while doing research for this article. Apparently music can reduce chronic and postoperative pain. Anesthesiologists are now using music in conjunction with anesthesia. Many women are using music to help them through the pain of childbirth. The endorphins released when listening to music help the body feel less pain. In addition, the patient feels a sense of control while listening to music, which lessens the severity of the pain. What interesting food for thought?

• Improved Productivity

Many people like to listen to music while they work. Besides just making things more fun, studies have shown that listening to music while working improves productivity. Luckily for me, I’m my own boss and can listen to music while I’m doing work at home. While teaching, I’m always listening to the music that my students play. 🙂

• Better relaxation

Apparently if you suffer from insomnia and listen to 45 minutes of relaxing music before you go to bed, it will help you get a good night’s rest. I’ll have to try this the next time I have trouble sleeping. Besides just keeping your physical body relaxed and calm, upbeat music can help distract you from negative things that are bothering you. Just knowing that makes me want to have a mini dance party in my office right now! Lol!

Anyway, I’m so very grateful for all of these positive effects of music. While I very much advocate for music lessons and music education for everyone, you actually don’t have to be a music pro or even know the least about music to gain these tremendous benefits. Anyone can listen to music or attend a concert to reap these super powers.

Thanks so much for reading! Please leave a comment below and tell me which of these benefits of music or any others that I didn’t mention do you love the most? “Like us” on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter list.

I hope your holiday is joyful and bright!

Sincerely,

Cassie