Shannon L's List: Musical Medicine

• Music is one of the few activities that involves using the whole brain.
• Of course, music can be distracting if it's too loud or too jarring, or   if it competes for our attention with what we're trying to do.
• Listening to music can reduce chronic pain from a range of painful conditions,   including osteoarthritis, disc problems and rheumatoid arthritis, by up   to 21% and depression by up to 25%,
• Music therapy is increasingly used in hospitals to reduce the need for   medication during childbirth, to decrease postoperative pain and complement   the use of anesthesia during surgery
• • 3. Music causes the body to release endorphins to counteract pain
   
  • 4. Slow music relaxes person by slowing their breathing and heartbeat
   
   
• By playing recordings of relaxing music every morning and evening, people   with high blood pressure
• When stroke patients in Finland listened to music for a couple of hours   each day, verbal memory and attention span improved significantly compared   to patients who received no musical stimulation, or who listened only to   stories read out loud
• Music can help migraine34 and   chronic headache35 sufferers   reduce the intensity, frequency, and duration of the headaches.
• Listening to music or singing can also decrease levels of stress-related   hormone cortisol.
• Listening to music or playing an instrument   can actually make you learn better
• • Reading and literacy skills11-13
   
  • Spatial-temporal reasoning14-15
   
  • Mathematical abilities16-17   - Even children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder benefit   in mathematics tests from listening to music beforehand.
   
  • Emotional intelligence
• recent findings18   show that listening to any music that is personally enjoyable has positive   effects on cognition.
• The simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes   learning and retention of information. The information being studied activates   the left brain while the music activates the right brain.
• , activities   which engage both sides of the brain at the same time, such as playing an   instrument or singing, cause the brain to be more capable of processing   information.
• Researchers have shown that certain types of music are a great "keys"   for recalling memories. Information learned while listening to a particular   song can often be recalled simply by "playing" the songs mentally.
• Researchers   have shown that just 45 minutes of relaxing music before bedtime can make for   a restful night2.
• Relaxing music reduces sympathetic nervous system activity, decreases anxiety,   blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate and may have positive effects   on sleep via muscle relaxation and distraction from thoughts.
• Reduces negative emotions. Music,   especially upbeat tunes, can take your mind off what stresses you, and   help you feel more optimistic and positive.

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