How Relaxing Music Can Benefit You In More Ways Than One
Relaxing music has become progressively more popular in recent years as people search for ways to de-stress and unwind. While there are many different genres of music that can be considered relaxing, the term generally refers to music that is slow, soft, and has no lyrics. Research has shown that relaxing music can offer a variety of benefits, including reducing stress, aiding sleep, improving mental clarity, and even boosting immunity. Let’s take a closer look at seven of the most significant benefits of relaxing music.
Benefits of relaxing music
1. Reducing Stress
One of the most well-known benefits of relaxing music is its ability to reduce stress. When we’re stressed, our sympathetic nervous system is activated, which triggers the release of stress hormones like cortisol. These hormones can lead to a variety of negative health effects, including high blood pressure, chest pain, and headaches. Relaxing music helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which has the opposite effect and promotes relaxation.
Relaxing music isn’t just soothing to the soul, it can also reduce stress and improve your overall wellbeing!
Dr. Mayor Boss, PhD
2. Aiding Sleep
If you have difficulty sleeping, relaxing music can be a helpful solution. Listening to calm, soothing music before bed can help you fall asleep more easily and get a better night’s rest. It is believed that music helps to slow down heart rates and breathing, which promotes relaxation and ultimately leads to better sleep quality. A study published in the Journal of advanced nursing found that participants who listened to 45 minutes of soothing music before bed fell asleep faster and slept more soundly than those who didn’t listen to any music at all.
Also Read: What To Do If You Can’t Sleep At Night
3. Alleviates Pain
We all experience pain at some point in our lives, whether it’s from an injury or a chronic condition like arthritis. Relaxing music has been shown to provide relief from various types of pain, including headaches, menstrual cramps, dental procedures, and postoperative pain relief.
Also Read: 8 Natural Painkillers That Help Ease Pain
4. Lowers blood pressure
High blood pressure is a serious health condition that can lead to heart disease, stroke, and other health problems. Thankfully, relaxing music has been shown to lower blood pressure. In other words, if you have high blood pressure, try listening to some calming music for a quick and easy way to lower your blood pressure.
5. Boosts mood
Listening to relaxing music can improve your mood by releasing endorphins, the “feel-good” hormones in our brains. Endorphins have been shown to improve our sense of well-being and decrease pain perception.
6. Boosts immune system function
The immune system is responsible for fighting off infection and disease. Relaxing music has been shown to boost immune system function by increasing the production of immunoglobulin A (IgA), an antibody that helps protect against infection.
7. Decreases anxiety
If you experience anxiety or panic attacks, listening to relaxing music can help to decrease your anxiety symptoms by inducing feelings of calmness and relaxation.
8. Enhances cognitive function
Relaxing music has been shown to improve task performance on tests of memory, attention, and reaction time. It may also help keep the mind sharp as we age by reducing the age-related decline in cognitive function.
9. Slowing Heart Rate
Listening to relaxing music has also been shown to slow heart rate and respiratory rate by promoting a relaxation response—a state of deep rest that is opposite from the fight-or-flight response elicited by stressors. In one study, researchers found that preoperative anxiety patients who listened to 30 minutes of classical music had lower heart rates and respiratory rates than those who didn’t listen. Any reduction in heart rate can help improve cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure and decreasing the risk of heart disease.
10. Promotes Healing
Not only can relaxing music decrease pain, but it can also promote healing in both mind and body. Studies have shown that music therapy can be beneficial for those recovering from surgery, as well as those dealing with mental health issues such as depression or PTSD.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a natural way to reduce stress, improve sleep quality, boost mood, or even promote healing, give relaxing music a try. You may be surprised at just how effective it can be!
