The sound of music, composed of energetic vibrations, is a language for the soul. It is versatile and can evoke emotion in everyone, regardless of nationality, religion, or musical preference.
Magic sounds
Music accompanies us throughout our lives, taking part in everything from ancient primitive rituals to elegant Victorian dinners, all with the same purpose: to create an atmosphere, to express the environment through sound.
Much research has been done to better understand music, and even now Dr. Daisy Fancourt continues to search. On September 8, she presented the results of her research at the British Science Festival.
This professor from the Royal College of Music and Imperial College London explained, with some humor, that “music was like a cheesecake for the ears: an exquisite confection designed to tickle our senses, please, but ultimately useless..
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However, many people disagreed with these findings. If you feel frustrated and exhausted, music will return your energy, fill your life with positive emotions and new meaning.
Scientifically proven
If you experience genuine joy, music can act as a kind of enhancer for that feeling. But until recently, scholars agreed that music serves no real purpose other than pleasure.
However, studies show that music affects us physically as well, it can create deep, tangible feelings within us, for example, it can bring chills, which will give goosebumps.
Over time, a growing body of research has confirmed that music can actually help with infant brain development. Then the opinion about the purpose of music changed somewhat, the doctrine recognized that it can have a tangible effect on people.
Mysterious connections
Dr. Fancourt is studying the link between music and hormones that are associated with stress. It has been found that listening to music can have a significant impact on various levels of mental health.
All psychological disorders, from schizophrenia to banal bad mood, can be corrected with certain types of music.
During a stressful situation, our body releases two hormones, cortisol and adrenaline, to help the body fight the cause of stress. However, they are intended to help us escape the approaching tiger or other physical hazards, rather than dealing with the daily psychological stress of modern life. Our hormones are constantly being activated, damaging our health.
However, studies have shown that blood levels of adrenaline and cortisol drop dramatically after singing for an hour or simply listening to soothing music.
This doctor calls his conclusions completely obvious, because in fact, everyone felt a similar effect on themselves. Do we need formal research to prove that we feel better after listening to our favorite tunes?
Perhaps some people need proof in the form of experiments and printed essays, rather than their own feelings, in order to understand the true influence of music.
Music protects
Dr. Fancourt decided to go further and find out if music can affect our immunity, help him fight infections. She did this by measuring compounds known as cytokines, which are like messengers for our immune system. They travel through our body, helping immune cells communicate with each other.
Dr. Fancourt says music can indeed change and increase our cytokine levels, which in turn stimulates our immune system. She conducted a simple experiment where she measured cytokine levels after participants in the study sang for a while. After an hour of singing, the volunteers had significantly more cytokines in their blood.
The more of these compounds in our blood, the stronger the connection exists between cells, and the stronger our immune system becomes, sometimes even cancer retreats before this method of treatment.
So the next time you feel low on energy, try chanting for a few minutes and you will notice the difference.
Natalia Sadovnichaya