Music For Your Health

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

11 Apr 2008 04:44 PM

Music doesn't just soothe the savage beast. Music can be used to treat a number of different conditions! Here are a few.

• Use music with guided imagery to deal with chronic pain. Studies from the Cleveland Clinic found that listening to music for just an hour per day can relieve pain by as much as twenty percent. Why? Because music seems to stimulate the release of endorphins in the brain that mask pain.
• Use music (singing and playing an instrument) to help increase breathing capacity. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who sing and/or play an instrument experience slower, deeper breathing.
• Use music and biofeedback to help get a better night's sleep. Pairing classical music and a study of your brain waves can boost levels of melatonin (the sleep-inducing brain chemical). If you don't want to take the time (and money) for a sleep study, add relaxing music to your pre-bed ritual. Try a CD player with a timer so the music shuts off once you're asleep.
• Use music to boost memory. Alzheimer's patients and recall names, faces, and words better after listening to favorite types of music. Many care centers are including sing-alongs to help boost feelings of community.
• Use music to ease depression. Research from the Cleveland Clinic has found that upbeat music combined with exercise like walking can reduce symptoms of depression by as much as twenty-five percent. Avoid wallowing in sad songs and go for twenty minutes of upbeat tunes to boost your mood.
• Use music to lower blood pressure. Research from the University of California at San Diego has found that classical music can lower blood pressure levels in college students.
• Use music to keep your energy levels up during a workout. A Japanese study found that your favorite upbeat tunes can keep you going during cardiovascular exercise.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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Beth McHugh (13216) 11 Apr 2008 05:39 PM

Music also improves brain development in children of all ages. You can read about research work done in this area in Music to your Ears at http://mental-health.families.com/blog/music-to-your-ears-and-brain

Best wishes, Beth McHugh Families Mental Health blogger

Kazul9 (11) 16 Jun 2008 09:48 AM

Thanks for the information on Bird Flu.

We recently wrote an article (http://brainblogger.com/2008/06/16/w-a-mozart-md/) on how music is good for your health at Brain Blogger (http://brainblogger.com/). A study in "Critical Care Medicine" evaluated stress levels after patient had listened to some piano sonatas. The results were amazing, but one composer in particular showed the most results when their music was played; Mozart.

We would like to read your comments on our article. Thank you.

Sincerely, Kelly