How Music Can Be Therapeutic

Woman using mp3 player at home.
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Listening to music is widely considered to be a quick way to improve your mood, but it's becoming increasingly clear that there are many more benefits to listening to music than just a quick mood boost. Research has shown that music has a profound effect on your body and psyche. In fact, there’s a growing field of healthcare known as music therapy, which uses music to heal.

People who practice music therapy are finding it can help cancer patients, children with ADD, and others. Hospitals are beginning to use music therapy to help ease pain and tension, to ward off depression, to promote movement, and to calm patients, among other benefits. Keep reading to learn more about the powerful ways music can affect the body and mind.

Therapeutic Effects of Music

The following are some of the physical effects of music that explain why music therapy can be so effective:

Brain Waves

Research has shown that music with a strong beat can stimulate brainwaves to resonate in sync with the beat, with faster beats bringing sharper concentration and more alert thinking, and slower tempos promoting a calm, meditative state.

Research has also found that music can change brainwave activity levels to enable the brain to shift speeds more easily as needed. This means music can have lasting benefits to your state of mind, even after you’ve stopped listening.

Breathing and Heart Rate

With alterations in brainwaves come changes in other bodily functions, specifically those controlled by the autonomic nervous system. This means things like breathing and heart rate can be affected by the changes music can bring. Slower breathing and a slower heart rate can help activate a relaxation response, among other things.

State of Mind

Music can also be used to bring a more positive state of mind, helping to keep depression and anxiety at bay. The uplifting sound of music and the positive or cathartic messages conveyed in lyrics can improve mental state as well.

Having a more positive state of mind as a baseline can help prevent the stress response from wreaking havoc on the body and can help keep creativity and optimism levels higher, which in turn bring many of their own benefits.

Other Benefits

Music has also been found to bring many other benefits, such as lowering blood pressure (which can also reduce the risk of stroke and other health problems over time), boosting immunity, easing muscle tension, and more.

With so many benefits and such profound physical effects, it’s no surprise that so many are seeing music as an important tool to help the body stay (or become) healthy.

Music Therapy

With increasing research demonstrating the benefits of music, it's no surprise music therapy is growing in popularity. Music therapists help with several other issues as well, including stress. For more information on music therapy, visit the American Music Therapy Association's website.

Using Music on Your Own to Improve Health

While music therapy is an important discipline, you can also achieve many benefits from listening to music on your own. It is likely you have been doing this since you were a teenager, but it is important to continue incorporating music into your daily life as you age. Whether it's throwing music on to dissolve the stress of a long drive or using it to keep motivated while exercising, listening to music daily can be used for relaxation, energy, and catharsis.

7 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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By Elizabeth Scott, PhD
Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.