The line “[m]usic hath charms to soothe a savage breast,” from William Congreve’s 1697 play The Mourning Bride, likely refers to the human heart. Of course, music has the ability to deeply evoke our emotions and it stimulates virtually every part of the brain. In technical terms, when we listen to music, dopamine, a chemical that serves as a messenger between the brain’s neurons (i.e., cells), is released. This typically makes us feel good or elated. It’s been found that music can also reduce anxiety and the chance of depression.
However, listening to music is good for humans in ways that are more than just emotional. Studies have shown that music may improve neurogenesis, the process by which neurons are formed. Music can also improve alertness and memory, increase intelligence and academic performance, and help fight age-related cognitive decline. For example, late-stage Alzheimer’s patients are often completely unresponsive to many types of external stimuli. However, playing the patients’ favorite music can cause their eyes to light up and they move and sometimes sing. Often, the effect even lasts for a short time after the music is turned off.
Outside of brain function, studies have shown that music can improve sleep and blood flow, the latter in ways similar to drugs such as statins. Studies also suggest that music can decrease stress-related hormones, pain, and blood-pressure, improve running performance, strengthen the immune system, reduce overeating, increase the likelihood that surgical procedures will be successful, lessen the amount of post-surgery pain killers that are necessary, and help patients recover from a stroke.
Music is also said to facilitate the learning of new languages. In studies, foreign words and phrases were better recalled when they were initially sung or spoken in a rhythmic fashion. Music can also activate the body’s motor system, which is what may allow us to identify music’s beat even before we start tapping our feet and nodding our head. Scientists are just now learning what positive affects result from this activation, but they already have found that music can improve exercise and running performance.
Not surprisingly, not all music is guaranteed to yield positive effects. Although there may be exceptions, fast paced, high-pitch music with intense lyrics and aggressive instrumentation, for example, generally won’t calm most people down.
Sometimes, given the many obligations in our life, including those of work and family, it’s difficult for many people listen to a lot of music. But undoubtedly, it behooves most of us audiophiles to make even more time for one of our favorite hobbies.
Note: since any article that addresses in detail how music affects humans would be extremely long, this article will be the first in a series on the topic.
Howard Kneller is an audio reviewer, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in such publications as the SoundStage! Network and Sound & Vision magazine. His audio and art photography can be found on Instagram (@howardkneller, @howardkneller.photog) and Facebook (@howardkneller).
