Sound therapy: Unlock emotional and cognitive health through daily music -The Standard Health

Sound therapy: Unlock emotional and cognitive health through daily music (Photo: iStock)

Everyone, or nearly everyone, knows what music is. But for the sake of definitions, music is a combination of sound, harmony, melody and rhythm. The output becomes something enjoyable when listened to. Music is considered a universal culture and is found in all human societies. Music genres, or simply styles, are mostly arbitrary and limitless. There are many combinations and overlapping styles, leaving everyone with a choice of music that they find enjoyable.

Increasingly, music has been recognised to have therapeutic benefits. Brain studies have shown the neurological impact of music, more so with emotions and cognition. Functional brain activity scans show that music lights up multiple parts of the brain, simultaneously impacting both physical and emotional sense centres. This implies that if one part of the brain is damaged, other parts of the brain can still be accessed through music.

The main applications of music’s therapeutic benefits are in dementia, palliative and end-of-life care. In such cases, music has been shown to reduce anxiety, psychological pain and trigger remote memories for people with dementia. For the unconscious and unresponsive, there is evidence to suggest that hearing is the last sense to be lost, and music can still reach them in their comatose state.

So what does this all mean to your own health, and that of your loved ones? Listening to music that you enjoy is a habit that may play a role in your overall health, especially with conditions linked to emotions and other cognitive functions. The strongest neurological associations with music are formed between the ages of 10 to 30. That’s why you see people in different age groups defaulting to very disparate music choices. But an active brain is always making new neurological connections, so finding new enjoyable music genres in later years isn’t for nought.

If you have any family members with end-of-life conditions or dementia, play them some music every so often. It helps to have an idea of the kind of music they enjoyed in their healthier years. If you have no idea, search for the music that was trending in their formative years. Or play any music that may have a connection to important past life events, such as their wedding or holiday songs. Such a small act will have untold benefits with psychological well-being, memories, the feeling of connections and a sense of still being alive despite approaching mortality.

There is no shortage of where to get your favourite music tunes from. If you have a collection and playlist, go for it. If you don’t, subscribe to one of the streaming services available. You’ll find it good for your health.