Do you ever have that one song that just sets the right mood? It could be a temporary, but that one song just automatically puts a smile to your face. In the following article we’ll be explaining how certain songs can lift up our moods. Tip: put on a nice song while reading this!
As crazy as it sounds, we have to understand that our brains recognize and respond to music the same way it does to smells and tastes; it literally brings back memories. In other words, no matter what you are doing, if you’re near a phone or device with a speaker you could set the right mood, even if it’s just for a little while.
Stress relief
Music works like a charm for the relief of stress. It takes away the worries, but you’re still able to think and be productive. In a 2013 study at the university of Alberta, researchers found out that patients with who listened to relaxing music while getting a shot said that the needle hurt less in comparison to the ones that didn’t hear anything. Meaning that music can relieve a person in distress or pain.
Memory
Music can also retrieve back old memories. Have you ever heard an old song and you we’re thrown right back to that year for a couple of seconds? Music really has this power because it is so intertwined with our brains. In the documentary ‘Alive Inside’ music literally woke patients up suffering from memory loss. Proving that music boosts brain activity with patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Making it a powerful, yet delightful tool.
Reducing pain
Music is also known to reduce pain. In a 2014 study, researchers found out that music can help patients with fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic complex disorder that causes widespread pain and tenderness to touch. In the study researchers found out that music “reduced pain and increased functional mobility significantly” with patients. They believed that music relieved the patients from their pain because music triggered opioids – the body’s natural pain relievers. In a previous study in 2013, patients who were given the opioid blocking drug Naltrexone experienced less pleasure while listening to their favourite song, suggesting music activates the release of pain-relieving opioids.
People don’t always have the same music taste, and that’s fine. Taste is something personal, and what works for you doesn’t have to work for everyone else. What is import is that you like it and feel comfortable listening to it. David O. McKay once said: “Music is truly and universal language, and when it is excellently expressed how deeply it moves our souls”. And he wasn’t lying, music can not only move our souls, but also our mind and body if we allow it.
Sources:
Eric Nopanen, E. (2018, February 1). The Powerful Effect of Music On the Brain. Retrieved from: https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/articles/the-powerful-effect-of-music-onthebrain.html:%7E:text=Music%20has%20been%20scientifically%20proven,%2C%20memory%2C%20and%20brain%20injuries.
What Is Fibromyalgia? (2020, May 13). Retrieved from: https://www.omf.ngo/what-is-fibromyalgia/?gclid=CjwKCAjwrcH3BRApEiwAxjdPTWjpuZVompO2BwA0mxJEYTMBfw0pgwaHVKQYIbbjNF32fIADjqEsGhoCw1cQAvD_BwE
