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The Effects of Relaxation Music on the Brain

From the days of antiquity when Gregorian and Benedictine monks performed chants during religious ceremonies to impart spiritual blessings and invoke the presence of angels during prayer, mankind has long known that music has the power to "soothe the savage beast." Yet it was not until the late 20th Century that medical researchers actively began to study the beneficial effects of relaxing music on the human brain. Their studies only confirmed what our ancestors already knew instinctively: that certain types of music alleviate stress, bring us joy and peace, and stimulate brain wave activity, actually making us smarter.

  1. Music Heals

    • An emerging field of modern health care today is known as music therapy, which quite literally uses music to heal the sick. Music therapists help people who suffer with a wide range of cognitive disorders---even devastating physical illnesses such as cancer---by employing music as part of the patient's overall treatment program. Even hospitals are beginning to use music therapy to assist with pain management, keeping patients calm, warding off depression and promoting movement through dance exercises. While some might question the legitimacy of music as medicine, the practice is swiftly gaining acceptance in the mainstream because it has consistently proven to be effective. According to Al Bumanis of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA): "It's not a cure, but it's a way to get your foot in the door [toward healing]."

    Music and intelligence

    • Recent research confirms that playing an instrument---or just listening intently to music---enhances emotional intelligence, promotes learning and can even boost your IQ. Music stimulates certain higher brain functions such as spatial-temporal reasoning. It has also been proven to increase reading comprehension and literacy skills, as well as mathematical abilities. According to numerous studies, children with ADD and hyperactivity disorders got higher scores on math tests after listening to music. A 1993 study published in the prestigious journal Nature found that college students performed better on tests after listening to a Mozart sonata for 10 minutes. This phenomenon became more widely known as "the Mozart Effect."

    Memory and Concentration

    • Listening to music heightens our ability to recall information. Researchers have learned that our minds associate specific life events, information or memories with music, and that hearing a particular song can help people access memory information once believed to be lost or forgotten. There is also clear evidence that musical training in childhood leads to a better-developed memory compared to children who did not study music. Listening to classical, soft jazz and New Age music has been shown to improve concentration in all age groups and ability levels.

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