stimulation. It's been true through history, and it's true throughout an individual's lifespan. creative and not at ease. Music can influence our brains in multiple ways. Verywell Mind's content is for informational and educational purposes only. There is a good reason why you find it easier to exercise while you listen to music. Hearing your own feelings reflected back to you is an important part of healing through music. Cheever, T., et al., Neuron, 2018, Effects of Music Training on Inhibitory Control and Associated Neural Networks in School-Aged Children: A Longitudinal Study Hosted by Editor-in-Chief and therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast, featuring best-selling author Helen Russell, shares how to accept and embrace your sadness. They compared Mozart's music with repetitive music by Philip Glass; again, Mozart seemed to help, improving spatial reasoning as measured by complex paper cutting and folding tasks and short-term memory as measured by a 16-item test. The brain will use the neurons in that pathway for something else. One study found that playing more upbeat music led to improvements in processing speed, while both upbeat and downbeat music led to benefits in memory. You might find that you feel more motivated, happy, and relaxed as a result. 3 Individuals with Opera fans have high self-esteem, are The best music for stress reduction is the kind that works for you. the 1940s But it depends upon a variety of factors, including the type of music, the listener's enjoyment of that music, and even how musically well-trained the listener may be. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. and outgoing Of course, music activates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes close to your ears, but thats just the beginning. EFFECTS OF MUSIC ON MENTAL HEALTH - LinkedIn 2010;20(4):662-9. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.00948.x, Ferguson YL, Sheldon KM. Music can relax the mind, energize the body, and even help people better manage pain. In the cataract and urologic surgery studies, the patients were awake during their operations. 3, 2020). Still others are investigating how music can help people recover from serious illnesses and conditions, including, now, COVID-19. Theres also evidence that formal music therapy can help with depression when used alongside other therapies. A study of 99 Chinese heart bypass surgery patients, for example, found that those who received half an hour of music therapy after the operationgenerally light, relaxing music of their own choicehad significantly lower self-reports of depression and anxiety than those who rested or received conventional medical check-ins in the same time frame (Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vol.