The second many people hear music their physical and mental states change. Music has been known to lessen the pain of physical impairments and increase brain stimuli. This makes music a healing wonder for many people who may be struggling.
Music is a harmonious form of energy with power far beyond melodious inspiration. It is well documented that a fetus in the womb becomes aware of sounds outside the womb as early as week 25 or 26. Due to this, a fetus can respond to external noises that are, to their not yet fully formed ears, muted by half of the original sound volume.
What Music Does to the Body and Mind
A toddler whose mobility is not fully developed responds to music by rocking or bouncing in time to the music. Emotionally and mentally, some toddlers respond to music by crying if the music sounds sad or is a boisterous, symphonic composition.
If music can have such a marked effect on the very young, it has usefulness for people of any age.
Although human emotions are not visible in the brain, emotions are influenced by a network of interconnected structures in the brain. These structures comprise what is known as the limbic system that includes:
- The hypothalamus
- The hippocampus
- Amygdala
- The limbic cortex, which plays a pivotal role in emotional and behavioral responses
What Dancers Know About the Impact of Music on the Body and Brain
Musicians who create music that surrounds them are intensely focused with an innate power to draw a reaction to their music. The most reactive example is dancers. They are trained to understand musical timing and coordinate their movements to intricately choreographed dance movements. This requires dancers to hear movement in each note and bar of music.
How Music Helps The Brain
While music has been found to help those involved with physical exercise, it also greatly helps people struggling mentally. It has been found that using musical therapy improves a variety of disorders including:
- Autism
- Alzheimer’s
- Cardiological disorders
- Substance abuse
- Depression
In addition, music helps lower blood pressure, reduce stress, improve coping and memory as well as improve self-esteem.
Music and Self Discipline
When music is introduced early in a child’s life, there is a natural desire to learn how to create music with musical instruments.
In many pre-school curricula today, basic musical instruments such as a tambourine, drum, xylophone, or piano are often used. This is usually where formal music lessons begin when the child desires to learn a specific instrument. This is also the best path forward to self-discipline as the children learn the qualities that each instrument requires in order to play it.
The Physical Impact of Music on Our Body And Brain
The physical impact of music on our body and brain proves to be a highly beneficial asset in terms of mental and physical well-being.
Learning to play a musical instrument requires self-discipline, mental focus, and body coordination. When the mind and body are set to music, the result is a greater sense of personal harmony.
