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Not one day without music
What kind of music do you listen to? Does music have a profound effect on you? Are you listening to music intentionally, or are you even playing an instrument yourself.
Times are rather challenging at the moment and so perhaps it is a good time to turn to music consciously and use it as a vital support and medicine for our own well-being.
We play our favorite songs when we are happy, when we feel sad and when we are in love. When we feel adventurous we seek out new tracks, new songs, or we play relaxed background music to a lively conversation. Music is part of our human existence and we cannot imagine to live without it.
But music is way more than just some notes, rhythms and texts. Music influences our brains, our moods, our overall well-being and it has played a vital and major role in all cultures for centuries. It is and has been implemented by shamans for ceremonies, rituals and in healing sessions all over the world.
Modern science has embraced the study of music and it’s effects on human beings as well, should it be in the department of psychology, in pain management, during surgeries, and exam preparations – just some examples.
New research from the British Academy of Sound Therapy (BAST) suggests that already 13 minutes of listening to music can profoundly relax, release sadness and enhance focus and after 9 minutes we can feel happiness setting in.
Under the direction of Dr. Veena Graff, an assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology & Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania students have conducted research of replacing sedatives with music prior to surgeries. The study has concluded that music has a positive effect on pre-surgery anxiety and was published in Science Daily. However more studies are needed in the future to validate these findings further.
And so what music has the 7minutesonline team listened to while writing this article?
We had a cup of tea and listened to David Garrett & Filamonica della Scala – Max Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Enjoy your own musical moments, after all it is medicine!
Your 7minutesonline team
Links
Music ‘calms nerves before surgery’ as well as sedative
Music as Medicine – The Musical Recommended Daily Allowance
Music takes 13 minutes to ‘release sadness’ and 9 to make you happy, according to new study
British Academy of Sound Therapy