What are the effects of music on us? The most well and daily experience of music is the way that it alters our mood and feelings. But the effects of music are much more than just uplifting our moods. Music makes the listener unlock old memories, even for a person having Alzheimer's or other advanced stages of neurogenerative diseases!
Is music just a sound, or a therapy you found?
A sound that has the magic to calm you down.
Sometimes it gives power to the beast inside,
Sometimes it makes you tear up on a lonely night.
Listening a music on loop for countless days,
One day you crave for music that makes you remember a phase.
Having so many relatable tunes that it is impossible to tick,
Magical, Mysterious or just say MUSIC!
What happens in our brain when listening to music? Science and technology has given us the technique of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which has given us a new way to find out how music is processed in our brain. In an individual, either of the two hemispheres is dominant, but when processing music both the hemispheres are involved which makes the person a better literal decision maker. Research has shown that brain waves resonate with the beat of music and this makes our breathing match with beats of music.
The neurons in the brain fire in synchrony to the tempo of the music you are listening to. So if you're a runner and you listen to music at a slightly faster phase, then this can increase your speed! Music activates regions in the front part of the cortex which are also activated when you perform cooperative altruistic acts. Music also affects the limbic system of our brain which is main part of dealing with emotions.
When we listen to the type of music we actually like, dopamine is released in our brain, which gives us the same satisfaction of when we intake drugs. The Love hormone-Oxytocin levels in the bloodstream increases on singing together, or more clearly we can say when improvising music together. It is interesting because this hormone is actually linked to the feeling of trust, attachment and relationship. Music decreases the level of stress hormone 'Cortisol' and reduces the sensitivity to pain in our body. Listening to pleasurable music boosts the production of IgA and also boosts the production of NK cells (Natural killer cells) which are the backbone of our immune system.
Being just a sound, it is a sea of emotions, feelings, memories, thoughts which take us to the whole new world, the world where we heal, understand silence, calm our mind and dive into different stories that the music wants to convey. Some use it as a medicine, some use it to be alive again. Some use it to convey their messages, some use it to escape the reality, and a lot more. It always gives support in every situation. So, when you are low or when you are sick, there always be a hand of your favourite music.
