Music therapy is therapy using music to overcome various social, emotional, and behavioral problems; cognitive, motoric, and sensory problems in all individuals of all ages. This therapy is often used by people who suffer from certain diseases, but the benefits of this therapy can be felt by everyone. According to the American Music Therapy Association, music therapy is a clinical musical intervention and is based on evidence by someone with a professional standard who has legitimately completed a music therapy program.
How does music therapy work?
Music is processed by all areas of the brain, then music accesses and stimulates areas of the brain that may not be accessible to other modalities. The parts of the brain that can be affected by music are:
- Orbitofrontal Cortex (social behavior)
- Prefrontal Cortex (explain and resolve problems)
- Anterior Cingulate Cortex (emotions and motivational based learning)
- Amygdala (social, emotional, and memory processing)
- Basal Ganglia (motor control)
- Hippocampus (learning and spatial memory)
- Auditory Cortex (hearing)
- Broca’s Area (speech production)
- Motor Cortex (voluntary movement)
- Sensory Cortex (touch and other sensations)
- Wernicke’s Area (speech understanding)
- Angular Gyrus (complex language functions)
- Visual Cortex (vision)
- Cerebellum (coordination, balance and motor memory)
- Brainstem (body vital function and sensory input)
The function of music therapy for health
Not only soothing, music therapy also has four main functions on the health of the human body.
Music for healing
Pain reliever
According to a paper in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, listening to music can reduce chronic pain from various conditions, including osteoarthritis, joint problems, and rheumatoid arthritis by up to 21%, and depression by up to 25%. Music therapy is widely used to reduce postoperative pain, childbirth, and also to supplement the use of anesthesia during surgery.
There are several theories about how music can have a positive effect on pain, namely:
- Music produces effects that can deflect attention
- Music can give patients a sense of control
- Music causes the body to release endorphins (pleasure hormones) to fight pain
- Slow music can relax the body by slowing down breathing and heart rate
Lower blood pressure
Listening to music that can relax the body every morning and evening will make people with hypertension lower their blood pressure and stay in a low position. According to research reported at a meeting of the American Society of Hypertension in New Orleans, listening to classical music or other soothing music for 30 minutes every day regularly can reduce high blood pressure.
Healthy heart
Music is very good for your heart. Research shows that what matters is the tempo of music, not the genre. The researchers pay attention to the changes in heart rate of young children when listening to 6 different musical styles. And the result is that when they listen to music with a fast tempo, their heart rate also gets faster, and vice versa. So, whether you like it or not for certain music has no effect on your heart rate. The tempo or speed of music has the greatest effect on heart relaxation.
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