🎶 The healing power of music 🎶
It can remind you of the best days of your life.
It can comfort you.
It can even make those who remember little, sing again.
The Extraordinary world of MUSIC 🎶
Melodies and lyrics lurk in our brains, ready to be released at the sound of a few notes - lifting our spirits, connecting us with our fellow human beings and evoking deeply buried memories as powerful as anything in the human experience.
Today, I’d like to share with you the medical specialty known as Music Therapy. It harnesses the extraordinary aspect of music to treat diseases ranging from depression, to chronic pain, to movement disorders, to autism, to Alzheimer’s disease.
Before we get started, I hope you found last week’s newsletter “Chocoholics rejoice” helpful. If you missed it, you can use this link, Here.
Okay, ready to get carried away by good vibes?
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It’s common knowledge that being around loud machinery or listening to music with the volume too high can be detrimental to our hearing health. But sound is powerful. Most of us have also been touched by a beautiful song or kind words. Music, laughter and the voice of a loved one can soothe us and spark joy. So, it may not come as a surprise that sound has restorative properties as well. Let’s take a look at sound healing therapies and their benefits.
Only in recent years has the scientific community begun to penetrate the mystery of how something as ephemeral as an acoustic signal - mere vibrations - can have such profound effects on damaged bodies and brains.
In the process, experts are gaining a deeper understanding of the importance of music in everyone’s day-to-day life, and its astonishing effects on the healthy, normal brain.
From the fossil instruments made from the femur of a now-extinct bear, to the original musical instrument, the human voice, music has been a part of our lives since the beginning.
Music therapy’s roots date back to WWI and WWII, when service members with traumatic brain injuries and “combat fatigue” (now called PTSD) were discovered, by chance, to improve in mood and function when listening to music. Veterans hospitals began hiring musicians to play to patients, and it was not long before physicians realized that the treatment’s effectiveness would be enhanced if musicians learned the basic tenets of psychology, neurology and physiology, so that they could tailor their playing to a patient’s specific needs.
Recent scientific studies have shown that music’s power over us is not purely psychological but based in measurable physiological changes.
Singing along with others to a beloved song (such as “Hey Jude”) causes the brain to secrete the chemical oxytocin, a naturally occurring hormone that creates the warm sensations of bonding, unity and security that make us feel all cuddly toward our children and others we love; infuses us with feelings of spiritual awe; and can alleviate chronic pain or the debilitating sensations of anxiety or the isolation of autism.
One area of medicine where the power of music has been particularly remarkable is in the treatment of the dementias, including Alzheimer’s decease, whose stubborn and terrible symptoms have been resistant to most forms of treatment.
HOW ARE MEMORIES MADE?
Mysteries remain about how memories are created, stored and retrieved in the brain and how music acts to revive them, but answers have begun to emerge, thanks to advanced brain scanning technology - specifically, fMRI.
This technology uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to track blood flow throughout the brain, showing that areas are active during physical tasks, like moving the fingers, or during cognitive tasks, including decision making and memory.
All memories, regardless of how vivid they seem to us, are electric and chemical signals in our brains that travel through a network of neurons.
fMRI reveals that many areas of the brain are involved with memory, from the brain stem (seat of automatic tasks like breathing and blinking) and the emotion centers (with it’s fight-or-flight reflexes) to the seeing and hearing centers; from the executive areas of the brains (where thinking and decision-making occur) to the part where long-term memories are processed.
None of this is especially surprising when you consider the layered richness of memory - the distant sights, sounds, smells, feelings and conversations that can be evoked by something as simple as a scent or sound.
Memories begin with our five senses, through our experience of the world.
The memory that allows you to recognize your mother was first encoded when you were a baby, from seeing, hearing and smelling her - sensory stimuli that resulted in the firing of neurons that wrote the memory “Mom”.
Listening to music, fMRI reveals, is (like memory itself) a full-brain workout; a wide distribution of brain structures light up including the:
Brain stem: Rousing classical music makes the pulse and blood pressure rise; soothing lullabies make them drop.
Motor centers: These are the source of the irrepressible urge to tap the toe or bob the head in time with music.
Language centers: They light up to a song with lyrics we remember.
Auditory cortex: This is where music’s pitches and tones are processed.
Emotion centers: Here feeling of yearning, joy, exultation, sadness, fear or loss are touched off by changes in the music’s tempo, pitch, volume; in the executive centers, thoughts and memories connected to the music are activated.
Visual systems: Think of how a dark and stormy passage of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony can call up images in your mind of black and turbulent skies.
This full-brain workout hints at why melodies and lyrics - particularly those from songs that have personal significance to us - have such a particular sticking power in our memories.
fMRI scans reveal that music is written into many parts of the brain, which is good news to those with memory challenges!
Dementia patients who listened to favorite songs daily showed a market improvement on memory tests.
HOW DOES THIS NEW INFORMATION HELP THOSE THAT ARE STILL HEALTHY?
All of this new information discovered with fMRI raises the question, for those of us not afflicted by dementia or Alzheimer's, should we be loading up our playlists with the songs we first fell in love with in our teens and early 20s - that period of life when most people form their musical tastes?
We can assume that active and positive stimulation is good for brain health. Engaging in music you like and enjoy is definitely a great part of it.
Can it reduce risk for dementia in the medical sense, like aspirin against stroke?
No. There are many factors - genetics, injuries, etc. - that contribute to disease. But it may provide boosts to keep the brain healthy longer.
And don’t worry about friends or spouses who deride you for engaging in empty nostalgia when you fire up Elton John’s “Rocket Man” for the 20th time this month. It’s precisely the familiarity of such music, the memories round it, the goose-bump-inducing pleasure of its soaring chorus and the surge of dopamine the can be released by your brain’s pleasure and reward centers as that crescendo arrives - “I’m a rocket MANNNNNN …. And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time!” - that can make such beloved songs so therapeutic.
This is your daily brain exercise. As a general principle: If there’s something that’s good for you, do it as much as you can!
WHAT IS SOUND HEALING AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
Sound healing, as the name suggests, involves using tones - whether music, speech or vibrations - to promote health. The ancient technique has been practiced for centuries, initially as a way to treat mental illness in ancient Greece. Today, sound therapy is used to promote physical and mental health, and the benefits are multifold.
Different approaches vary based on the desired result. These techniques can reduce stress, mood swings and blood pressure, lower cholesterol, help manage pain and improve sleep. Although there are many methods, a few common sound healing techniques include binaural beats, tuning fork therapy, vibrational sound therapy and music for healing. There’s plenty of research still to be done, but studies have demonstrated its ability to boost relaxation and overall well-being.
Binaural beats:
This sound therapy method uses two slightly different tones, which are played simultaneously in each ear. The tones are so similar that the listener perceives them as one. Different hertz levels ranging from .1 to 100 can be played for a range of purposes.
The lower-level binaural beats are associated with dreamless sleep, meditation and relaxation, while the higher-level patterns support focus and attention. Listening to binaural beats can reduce stress and anxiety, improve motivation, mood and confidence, and deepen meditation.
If you’re curious about trying this technique yourself, you can listen to binaural beats from the comfort of your own home. To get the most from the practice, aim to listen for 15 to 30 minutes daily for 30 to 45 days. All you’ll need are headphones, an audio system and a quiet environment. The App Store has free apps available, such as Binaural (β), which allows you to choose which frequency level you’d like to listen to and for how long.
Tuning fork therapy:
Much like acupuncture, tuning fork therapy applies pressure to different parts of the body. A specialist will calibrate metal tuning forks with different vibrations, and then place them directly on the individual. The tuning forks emit sound healing frequencies, stimulating the same central points that acupuncture treatments target.
The goal of the practice is to reduce pain and release tension, creating a balanced body and mind.
If you’re interested in trying this method, find a wellness professional who specializes in this type of sound therapy.
Vibrational sound therapy:
Also known as Vibroacoustic Therapy, this sound healing exercise uses low frequency vibrations to increase cellular movement. This results in higher energy levels, increased mobility and reduced pain and inflammation.
It is particularly beneficial for those with Parkinson’s, autism, migraines, muscle cramps and cerebral palsy. In a study among an elderly population living in nursing homes, vibrational sound therapy also helped ease depression and promote relaxation.
Using music for healing:
Several types of sound therapy use music for healing. But why is music important?
Research shows that it can improve stress levels. One study found that listening to music before a taxing event sparked a physiological change in the nervous system, helping participants’ cortisol (the stress hormone) return to a normal level more quickly than it did for participants who didn’t listen to music beforehand. Simply listening to music can help us keep calm, but there are also more formal treatments.
Here are three ways to use music for healing:
Neurologic music therapy is typically led by a professional who can tailor the session to an individual’s needs. It has been shown to diminish anxiety—particularly before and after invasive medical procedures—since music is able to distract us and influence our moods. To reap the benefits of this method, participants create, sing, listen to or move to music.
Nordoff-Robbins uses healing sounds with guidance from a trained expert. Musicians go to school to learn the technique, which often helps kids with learning disabilities or developmental delays. The practice involves listening to or making music, sometimes with an end goal of a performance.
Singing bowl therapy is a style of meditation that’s been practiced since the 12th century. Metal bowls are used to create a soothing sound and calm the listener. One study that looked at its effects on mood, tension, anxiety and physical pain found the meditation significantly improved well-being.
THE BOTTOM LINE
“A person does not hear sound only through the ears; he hears sound through every pore of the body. It permeates the entire being, and according to its particular influence, either slows or quickens the rhythm of the blood circulation; it either awakens or soothes the nervous system”
“In sound we are born, in sound we are healed”
Sound therapy may be an unfamiliar idea, but it’s gaining research-based traction. Studies found that music has anti-inflammatory properties and can strengthen the immune system while lowering stress levels. With less tension and anxiety, the body can maintain healthy cell activity and protect itself from illness.
Research also suggests that group singing and group drumming, which have been in practice since prehistoric times, improve well-being. Spending quality social time together while making music creates a positive atmosphere that can lessen psychological stressors.
Evidence shows that using lullabies as music therapy helps premature infants’ heart rates and breathing and can even improve their feeding behaviors.
There’s also good news for those suffering from tinnitus—that pesky buzzing sound that comes from inside the ear. Tinnitus won’t disappear, but “Tinnitus Retraining Therapy” (TRT) is a tinnitus treatment that uses sound therapy to teach the brain to ignore the irritating ringing sensation.
Whether you’re hoping to enhance relaxation, get a better night of sleep or manage pain, sound healing therapies can help you find relief. With so many different forms of the practice to choose from, consider trying out a few different types to discover what works best for you.
I hope you’ve found today’s newsletter informative!
Make an appointment and come talk with us if you are having doubts or questions about your family’s health. We will give you the honest truth, and the clinical research that supports it.
To make an appointment with me use this link: HERE.
Or, you can always give me a call at (973) 210-3838
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We bring tools such as these to you, our patients, by using proven cutting-edge therapies to extend the health-span, life-span and years of health for everyone (no matter their age)!
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