It produces a cascade of benefits in our head. Music is a sweet addiction, to be consumed without moderation!
We all know it: a few notes are enough to provoke a tidal wave of emotions. Music caresses our brain, triggering virtuous mechanisms confirmed by numerous scientific studies. And no matter what your style, because it’s the one you love that provides the best therapeutic benefits.
It boosts anti-depression neurotransmitters!
Music propagates in the area of the brain where the reward circuit is located. It activates the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that makes us want to live. This explains its effectiveness in fighting depression and anxiety.
It also causes the secretion of serotonin, a substance found today in antidepressants, as well as endogenous morphine called endorphins.
These benefits can be enhanced with the help of a music therapist, who will be able to define a personalized protocol, with a sequence of pieces according to the “stimulating / relaxing” rhythm.
It can help focus!
Our favorite tunes could improve our ability to concentrate and therefore our performance. Besides its pleasant nature of course, the music must remain fairly neutral and without words. Otherwise, you will be distracted by cognitive tasks, such as reading or writing.
On the other hand, for musicians, it is better to avoid a musical atmosphere! Used to decoding notes, their brains are not able to take the music into the background.
Joyful tempos to stimulate creativity!
This much sought-after quality is not a gift, but a disposition that can be cultivated. For instance, listening to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, in particular, increases the flexibility of thinking, allowing the brain to associate different ideas and open to new solutions. This type of music provokes a certain euphoria, conducive to lifting the inhibitions that curb risk-taking and creativity.
Playing an instrument strengthens cognitive abilities!
It is never too late to start playing the violin or the piano. Even if we get started late, learning will shape our brains. Linking up notes triggers the production of neurons and the creation of new connections: this is brain plasticity.
Music does not only affect the auditory areas, far from it. It also strengthens memory, the areas involved in language and those involved in problem solving. It is analyzed by the frontal lobe. It contains the executive functions that allow us to act on the world.
A “drug” against brain diseases!
This is a path of particular interest to researchers. In the event of a brain injury, stressing the areas of the brain involved in listening to music strengthens impaired cognitive skills. In particular, it promotes language recovery in people with stroke.
Music is also beneficial for people with Alzheimer’s. Patients are able to remember well-known pieces when they have forgotten everything else. The path of emotions lasts much longer in the brain than that of rational analysis.
Hearing a familiar tune again causes stimulation which wakes the patient from the apathy inherent in his pathology. Music improves communication and can even wake up memory and associated events.
Finally, rhythmic partitions also help to maintain the coordination of movements of Parkinson’s patients. And for good reason: the production of dopamine also acts on the areas of the brain that allow movement to be fluid.
Reference: https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/your-brain-on-music/
Photo de Roger Sekoua provenant de Pexels
