In the Key of Wellness
Music is more than entertainment and pleasant diversion-it can
keep your body and mind in tune
In every high school movie ever made, the band geeks and the
jocks just don't mix. The band geeks are scrawny and smart. The
jocks are beefy bullies. It's a cinematic cliché that's accepted
over and over without question. But as scientists learn more about
music and its effects on the brain and body, they're finding
evidence that suggests it might be time to shove this tired,
one-note gimmick into a locker for good.
Music and Lyrics
When it comes to the health-boosting potential of music, there
are two main delivery methods: Simply listening to music offers one
set of benefits, while participating in music-making offers
another.
According to Al Bumanis, MT-BC, a music therapist and spokesman
for the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), "passive
listening" to music can reduce heart rate and blood pressure,
induce a relaxed state and change your mood. As evidence that the
very act of listening to music, even passively, can affect one's
physiology, Bumanis says, babies in neonatal intensive care units
have had improved lung development and nursing ability when exposed
to music. A 2003 study in Heart & Lung suggests that listening
to music while you work out does more than pass the time and make
it enjoyable- it might also increase your cognitive function,
giving your verbal "muscles" a boost.
Strike Up the Band
A 2005 European study looked at the heart-bolstering,
stress-busting effects of music and found that listening to music
slowed breathing patterns in everyone studied. But the change was
most drastic in those who had studied music, because they had
learned to regulate their breathing with musical phrases.
This suggests what Bumanis says: Even more powerful than
listening to music is the act of making music, especially when you
make music with others. "It's in the here and now, it's reality-
based, physical-based, it's communication between people. You're
creating a groove with someone else." According to the AMTA
website, drumming is one example of active music- making that
healthy individuals can use for stress reduction. And, as Bumanis
says, "Active music-making engages certain areas of the brain that
guard against dementia and decline. It's frequently listed as an
activity you can undertake to help prevent Alzheimer's disease."
-By Andrea Decker