Health Benefits of Music
Madelyn Kaiser
ENG W131-28
Moore
1 October 2013
When Words Fail Music Speaks Today music compels and drives people to accomplish many tasks, and also has the ability to change our emotions. It could be the beat or perhaps the lyrics that push people to do things they may not normally do. You could be excited, sad, happy, and mad and a song could change your mood in no time. Although there are many good qualities in music, this essay is going to focus on the health benefits, how music affects your mood and how music could be used as therapy The health benefits that music can have on people are very many, the four main health benefits of music are; reducing stress, making you happy, altering brain waves and music can help to motivate you (Radwan). The first way to reduce stress through music is to find a genre of music that promotes relaxation. Your genre of music that soothes you may be a different genre than what soothes someone else. For example, classical music could soothe you however, acoustic covers could be soothing to someone else. There is no set definition of soothing music, it is all personal preference. Music can make you happy by encouraging your body to produce serotonin and dopamine, which are considered the hormones to control happiness (Radwan). The chemicals released while listening to music are similar chemicals released while doing other activities that promote happiness. These activities could include; gambling, sex, taking drugs, or indulging delicious food (Sohn). "You 're following these tunes and anticipating what 's going to come next and whether it 's going to confirm or surprise you, and all of these little cognitive nuances are what 's giving you this amazing pleasure. The reinforcement or reward happens almost entirely because of dopamine,” says Valorie Salimpoor, a neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal. In other words, whether you know a song or not you will still feel happiness and that is why music could always
ENG W131-28
Moore
1 October 2013
When Words Fail Music Speaks Today music compels and drives people to accomplish many tasks, and also has the ability to change our emotions. It could be the beat or perhaps the lyrics that push people to do things they may not normally do. You could be excited, sad, happy, and mad and a song could change your mood in no time. Although there are many good qualities in music, this essay is going to focus on the health benefits, how music affects your mood and how music could be used as therapy The health benefits that music can have on people are very many, the four main health benefits of music are; reducing stress, making you happy, altering brain waves and music can help to motivate you (Radwan). The first way to reduce stress through music is to find a genre of music that promotes relaxation. Your genre of music that soothes you may be a different genre than what soothes someone else. For example, classical music could soothe you however, acoustic covers could be soothing to someone else. There is no set definition of soothing music, it is all personal preference. Music can make you happy by encouraging your body to produce serotonin and dopamine, which are considered the hormones to control happiness (Radwan). The chemicals released while listening to music are similar chemicals released while doing other activities that promote happiness. These activities could include; gambling, sex, taking drugs, or indulging delicious food (Sohn). "You 're following these tunes and anticipating what 's going to come next and whether it 's going to confirm or surprise you, and all of these little cognitive nuances are what 's giving you this amazing pleasure. The reinforcement or reward happens almost entirely because of dopamine,” says Valorie Salimpoor, a neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal. In other words, whether you know a song or not you will still feel happiness and that is why music could always
Cited: American Pain Society. "Listening to music can be effective for reducing pain in high- anxiety persons." ScienceDaily, 9 Jan. 2012. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. Khan, Amina. "Tune into You." LA Times 10 Mar 2012, n. pag. Web. 2 Oct. 2013. . Radwan, M.Farouk. "Using Music to Change Your Mood."2Knowmyself.com. N.p., 12 Mar 2006. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. . Sohn, Emily. "Why Music Makes You Happy." Discovery. N.p., 10 Jan 2011. Web. 1 Oct 2013. .