Music is Medicine. After a sad night or a happy day, the first instinct is to grab your headphones and play a song that matches your mood. There’s a reason why when our brain is a mess, music doesn’t just sound good; it heals. Science proves that these aren’t random occurrences; music literally changes the way the brain and body function. When you really think about it, music might be the simplest, most cost-effective, and most accessible form of therapy out there.
Music on the brain
When you press play on your favorite playlist, the brain responds immediately. According to Ohio University, listening to music releases dopamine into the body. Dopamine is the “pleasure” hormone that is responsible for feelings of happiness or reward. As the dopamine levels in the body rise, cortisol, the stress hormone, drops.
This explains why, in the middle of a breakdown, listening to your favorite song can boost your mood. There was a 2013 study from McGill University, which found that the participants who listened to music daily experienced less stress and were happier. So the music you listen to is scientifically determining your mood.
The idea of music as therapy is not new; there is a whole field of medicine that focuses on how music can heal patients both physically and mentally. According to the American Music Therapy Association, “music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program”.
In hospitals, for example, music can be used to lower a patient’s heart rate or blood pressure before surgery. It could also be used in schools to help calm kids down after high-stress events or any kind of outburst. During an art therapy session, the patient could create music, listen to music, discuss lyrics and their meanings, or play an instrument. All of these therapy types are known to have positive effects on both one’s mental and physical health.
The soundtrack to healing
You don’t need a therapist to feel the effects of music. Curating a playlist based on your moods is a great way to help your brain. Pop and reggae music are known to energize and put you in an upbeat mood. Sad songs and R&B allow processing emotions rather than bottling them up. Lo-fi beats are good for studying and unwinding.
Creating a playlist for healing, motivation, happiness, or reflection can help your brain regulate. Sometimes the music syncs with your breathing and heartbeat. This is why you can feel grounded after listening to certain songs when the surroundings are in chaos.
“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain”
– Bob Marley
Music can’t replace therapy, but it reminds us that healing isn’t always clinical. There is beauty in how a certain lyric can capture all of your feelings, or how millions of people can relate to the same lyrics. Music is a shared kind of healing, and no medical study can truly capture that magic. But that might be the whole point: music isn’t prescribed, it’s played.