By Ben Cox
The Hamels are taking a week off this week with a brand new move for their spa to the Andre & Andre building. They’ll bring you a more scholarly article than probably I can. However, one thing that we agree on wholeheartedly is the power of music’s ability to help our mood, transform our lives and keep us mentally healthy.
Research completed in 2021 suggests that music engagement not only shapes our personal and cultural identities but also plays a role in mood regulation. A 2022 review and meta-analysis of music therapy found an overall beneficial effect on stress-related outcomes. Moreover, music can be used to help in addressing serious mental health and substance use disorders. Music has been studied as a support for serious mental illness for decades, with promising results. Furthermore, music therapy, which uses music as a therapeutic tool, can help individuals manage emotional distress, explore their feelings and enhance social skills.
Studies have shown that listening to music can lower cortisol levels, a stress hormone, and reduce blood pressure and heart rate, which often spike during stress. Music can also trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and reduce stress. Even creating your own playlists and engaging with music on your own can be an effective way to manage anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorders. Those goose pimples you get when you hear your favorite songs or experience an awesome moment in a concert is your body’s response to the good chemicals in your brain working to make you feel relaxed, happy and healthy.
Music can also create a sense of connection and belonging, which can be helpful for people who are struggling with isolation or loneliness. Creating and being involved in a music scene allows some of those who feel disconnected from society find their flock of people and receive innerconnection that we desire and need to feel wanted, seen and loved.
It’s often been shown that those experiencing early onset of dementia illnesses can slow some of those diseases progression through stimulation of music. The NCCDP reports music can trigger memories, particularly from childhood, and improve recall, even in advanced stages of dementia. Music touches the back of our brains to improve cognitive functions.
In essence, music can be a powerful tool for enhancing the quality of life for everyone – even if you do sing a little off key, play a wrong note or simply want to put on your favorite song. Music is a key to unlocking better mental health and helps you make a new friend or two along the way.
Ben Cox is a retired performing musician and songwriter. He fell one class short of a psychology minor in college. For more than 30 yearsof experience in health fields, reach out to Dr. Justin Hamel and Clara Hamel at 1° Performance & Longevity, located at 46 N. Central Park Plaza A in Jacksonville, on Facebook or by phone at 217-243-6358.
