MUSIC WITH SCIENCE

Have you ever felt that the music speaks to your heart? Most probably, your answer will be “yes”.
Anyhow, did you understand the language? In my case, I cannot understand the language, but I feel it. It
is a kind of language that understands our emotions, a remedy for mental illness.

“Music is so naturally united with us that we cannot be free from it even if we so desired” – by Boethius

Music evokes a range of human emotions. It has no limitations nor boundaries. Due to the rhythm and the frequency, the music fires the brain’s neurons at random rates. Vibrations create the sound of music, the vibrating particles generate energy, and we hear the created sound waves. The ear picks up some of the frequencies and stimulates the brain regions. Since it can imitate emotions, we get to relax and hence relieve stress while listening to music.

Have you ever wondered why music makes us emotional? The dopamine is the secret. Through auditory stimulation, the firing of neurons, it fixes our overall mood. By activating the dopaminergic pathways that transmit dopamine and the deep brain structures like the hippocampus and amygdala that associate with emotions, music brings out the chill sensation and heal us emotionally.

For some people, the memories in music-evoked emotion remain familiar. Based on what we have listened to and the experience throughout the past, the brain tries to understand what’s going on and what is coming next. When considering the benefits, it helps to sleep better, elevate mood, improve learning and memory, boost your creativity, and concentrate on the mind and essential for cognition.

The happy music cheers us, loud and fast music excite us, sadness brought by sad music and pleasant, lovely, charming, quiet music calms us down and suitable for therapeutic purpose. Music therapy has become more prevalent in the current decade. The capability of stimulating the relaxation response and reducing emotional stress have made music a promising choice in treatment. The music reduces the cortisol level and reduces emotional stress because the more cortisol, the more anger. Due to relaxation, it facilitates breathing. The results are due to the reduction of the post-stress response of the responsible brain region.

On the other hand, there are harmful effects to the mind and body. There can be an influence on the autonomic nervous system if the music has an inadequate flow. As an example, hard rock music. Some researchers have established that rock music increases the in-adrenaline level because this led to abnormalities in the brain region responsible for learning and memory.

Under the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, isolated people may experience stress because of separation from loved ones. So, music therapy is an effective method of reducing stress and fixing the mood. So, try to be happy, enjoy the moment, love life, and live with music. It will definitely be a cure.

Author – Pabasarani Gamlath
BSc Pharmacy (Hons),
Faculty of Science,
University of Colombo,
Sri Lanka.
Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabasarani-gamlath-b1a548152/

References:

1. https://tcnjjournal.pages.tcnj.edu/2013/04/13/the-science-behind-music/
2. https://allthatsinteresting.com/science-behind-music
3. https://arlenetaylor.org/music-and-the-brain/7410-potential-negative-impact