People are constantly exposed to music. Whether it is in a car, an elevator, or the waiting room of a doctor’s office, almost everyone, every day, hears some type of melody or song. Can you imagine your life in the absence of music? Although listening to music is a common phenomenon, most people know little about how it affects the mind and body. Music can be used to create specific atmospheres, elicit certain emotions, and promote community and bonding. By understanding the beneficial effects that music has on our minds and bodies, we can utilize its powers to facilitate healing. One way in which music, even simple consistent rhythms, can be used to help strengthen the body and the mind is through music therapy. In this type of therapy, music is used to stimulate certain parts of the brain to enhance cognitive function and modify behavior. Some of these brain regions include the visual cortex, the cerebellum, and the motor cortex. Music therapy can involve therapeutically listening to certain songs or playing a particular instrument. In either case, participants usually express feelings of happiness, relaxation, and ease. Music therapy has been beneficial for people who suffer from autism, anxiety, stress, and insomnia. The following paper will explore how music therapy has been beneficial for the human immune system as well as for people with acquired brain damage and Alzheimer’s Disease. Each of the studies provides good evidence in support of music therapy as a means to help physical and psychological problems. As more research is done to further solidify the potential of music therapy, the chances of becoming a widely accepted form of medical treatment increases. One effect that music can have on biology is improving the... ... middle of paper ... ... sleep, behavior, attentiveness, and aging. [ADD SENTENCE] Normally, melatonin levels are low during the day and generally high at night. The high levels of melatonin signal to the body that it is time to go to sleep. But because melatonin serum levels decrease with increasing age for humans, older people tend to wake up and fall asleep earlier than normal. Since AD patients are typically older individuals, music therapy aids in the normalizing of this hormone. This allows the patients to get better quality sleep and improve behavior. Music therapy may have long-term effects since the elevated serum levels of melatonin last even after the therapy sessions ended. Similarly, norepinephrine and epinephrine levels also increased after music therapy but eventually returned to baseline levels after six weeks. [FINISH THIS SECTION] [TALK ABOUT THE LARGE IMPLICATIONS]
Occasionally music is used as medicine. One scholar shows that music can lower blood pressure, speed up stroke recovery, help you fall asleep, and help relieve pain (Surprising Effects of Music). Many schools provide a challenging curriculum for their students. Music classes would give students a chance to relax. Research demonstrates that liste...
U.M. Nater, et al. "Listening To Music and Physiological and Psychological Functioning: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation and Stress Reactivity." Psychology & Health 27.2 (2012): 227-241. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
Music therapy isn’t the same as other therapy. Music therapy uses music to help establish a connection of ...
I’m writing my paper on Music Therapy, and how music affects the mind and body, to treat various illnesses. Music therapy is the prescribed use of music under the direction of specially trained therapists to influence changes in negative conditions and behavior. It accomplishes this by maintaining and restoring mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health .One type of theory is the idea that music, movement, and speech are inseparable. Music evokes unconscious thoughts and feelings, which in turn expand self-awareness. Music therapy is a powerful and non-invasive form of sensory stimulation which provokes responses due to the familiarity, predictability, and feelings of security associated with it. In some medical settings such as mental health services, it has been used to decrease patient’s perception of pain, anxiety and depression. ICU patients listening to music showed a significant decrease in blood pressure. It has been shown to calm the patient and to relax their mind and body. Music eases the burden on the arteries and nerves through relaxation. Du...
Trials have been done on children with autism, cancer patients, and those with substance use disorders. In music therapy trials done on various cancer patients, significant positive affects have occured. Data collected from a study at Wake Forest Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina showed significant improvements. The patients was diagnosed with Leukemia. The music therapy type was PME and the patient showed improvements in relaxation and heart rate normality (Boehm). Music therapy not only facilitates the brain and allows the patient to relax and be in touch with their
It is estimated more than 5.3 million people have Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, with a new case of AD being diagnosed every 70 seconds. For women living over the age of 55 the risk of developing AD is 17%. For men, at the same age, the risk is slightly lowered at 9% (LeMone, Burke & Bauldoff, 2011, p.1510). Due to these staggering statics, AD continues to be an area of great interest and concern for the medical community. Although the cause of AD is unknown and there is currently no cure, many advances have been made in the treatment of AD. Treatments for AD are now expanding out from simply providing traditional pharmacological interventions to incorporating alternative treatments as well. Music therapy is one of the alternative treatments now being implemented for individuals suffering from AD. This research paper will discuss what Alzheimer’s disease is, what music therapy is and how music therapy is implemented in the treatment of AD, as well as the benefits and barriers of music therapy in AD patients
Scott, Elizabeth, M.S. “Music and Your Body: How Music Affects Us and Why Music Therapy
Music Therapy is the use of music to treat a range of conditions either physical or mental (Questia, 2017). It can be used to help a range of conditions such as: autism, mental health (for example anxiety and depression), learning disabilities and neuro disabilities (British Association for Music Therapy (BAMT), 2017). This could be proven useful due to its variety of conditions it can help with, it is a very different idea to help people and music in general is very enjoyable and uplifting. It can also be useful for it is a way people can express themselves, there are many cases in which people do not know how to communicate with others or do not like talking about their conditions or how they feel and communication is very important. However,
B., Gfeller, K. E., & Thaut, M. H. (2008). An Introduction to Music Therapy: Theory and
It is true that music has a compact link to our emotions. Music assists people to overcome the bad situations in their life, just like it did for Sonny, the barmaid, or some other people in the Harlem. Music has a tremendous effect on people’s mind because it makes them feel relax and comfortable, especially the soft classical music. It helps distressed people to stay smooth and peaceful. In fact, music is a remarkable way to ease our stress.
In summary, it is very reasonable to determine that music therapy has been a pronounced development. It has aided an abundance of people with dealing with all sorts of different issues they are faced with in everyday life; from emotional issues to illnesses. However, music therapy is not for everyone. There are many different types of therapies available for patients to choose from if they feel if music therapy isn’t for
...cott, Elizabeth. "Music and Your Body: How Music Affects Us and Why Music Therapy Promotes Health." . N.p., 10 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .
In order to understand why the use of music therapy is growing, one must know what exactly music therapy is. Music Therapy is an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. Music therapy also provides avenues for communicati...
Music therapy is the use of music and or musical elements by a qualified music therapist with a client or group in a process designed to facilitate and promote communication, relationships, learning, expression, organization and other relevant therapeutic objects in offer to meet physical, emotional, mental, social, and cognitive needs. There are many things that make music therapy. A few elements that contribute to music therapy are tone, rhythm, harmony, melody, and timbre. There are many reason as to why people try music therapy. A few would be coping with illness, managing problems, and overcoming impairments. When someone is thinking about music therapy the first step is getting a bachelor’s degree. There is also places that will let you
Music has incredible effects on the brain and body! Ever since the beginning of time, music has been around. It can influence the way a person thinks and behaves, and also social interactions. Teens are more susceptible to this (Revatto 1). Music can be used in therapy by helping people with depression, and can even be a more natural way to heal the body (“How Music...” 1). In some cases, songs and melodies can help or make diseases worse. Music is a powerful thing and can affect your brain and many other things in your body in numerous ways.