The strength of music

Music is a constant part of our lives, but as a growing field in healthcare science, it can improve our health as well.

The American Music Therapy Association’s definition of music therapy is that it is the “clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.”
In other words, it’s a process in which a music therapist uses music to help improve a person’s quality of life, their outlooks and behaviors.

Depending on the situation, music can be used as a remedy. It is a diverse field that covers many areas and can be applied to a person of any age.

Musictherapy.org, the AMTA’s website, contains research that will show that the medicine of music can vary from people with high levels of stress, high blood pressure, mental illnesses, to people who have had strokes or heart disease.

The Huffington Post wrote that The Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence both created music therapy programs in Nov. 2012.

The healing of music has been used in the military World War I and II. Creative arts are used alongside rehabilitation programs to help care for returning soldiers physically, mentally and emotionally.

A study by Jeong & Kim showed that the sub-group of stroke survivors who were given treatment combined with music gained more flexibility and range of motion than the sub-group that was given treatment without music therapy.

As stated on brainsync.com, the rhythms of music help us by working with our body and mind. A song with a faster pace results in a faster heartbeat, sharper thinking and a higher level of alertness. This is due to beta waves our brains release in reaction to the rhythm of a song.

Vice versa, our brains release alphas waves to a slower pace or beat, which brings about a calmer state of mind.

There is a reason why runners use fast-paced music and yoga uses sounds of nature.

Music therapy is also helpful to people with mood disorders. According to the Mayo Health Clinic, music helped adolescents deal with two “prevalent” mood disorders: clinical depression and bipolar disorder.

Motivational music, for example, allows a child or adolescent to feel relaxed and comfortable and also allow them to confront what made them feel uncomfortable in the first place.

Perhaps the best part about music therapy is that for most it is easily
affordable. Who doesn’t listen to music?

Whether it is at home, in a car or even in the elevator, tunes are always close by. When applied right, music can be more than something to just listen to and fill in the silence.

The power of music can sometimes go underestimated, but there may be a reason why some people are always plugged in.