Our brain and body on Music - The physical and mental benefits to listening to your favorite song
By: Sydney Levine
You know that feeling when you hear a song for the first time – that almost indescribable feeling of getting goosebumps or chills because the lyrics or beat are just that good? Do you notice how a particular song can bring up certain emotions within you, make your mood change, and remind you of a certain time in your life? How about when you go on a run and you turn to your “pump” up playlist or on a rainy day you just need a playlist that makes you feel warm and calm? Music can have a real effect on your mind and body. And according to growing research, it can actually improve your health and overall wellness (Chanda & Levitin, 2013) (MD, 2020). So yes, we all love singing along to our favorite songs – but it actually may be doing you some good.
Like with any stimulus, your brain will respond when you listen to music. Several parts of the brain become active and the various regions of the brain play a role in how you perceive the music you are listening to. Auditory systems, visual systems and memory systems of the brain all play a role when we listen to a song or play an instrument. Music has the ability to activate most of the brain (Music and the Brain, n.d.) (How Does Music Affect Your Brain?, n.d.). Just as our muscles grow and strengthen when we work out, our brain pathways and networks are strengthened when they are used and weakened when they are not. Listening to music, by activating most of the brain, improves and strengthens the brain’s function.
There are several areas of the brain that help us perceive and interpret the sounds we hear when we listen to our favorite song. For example, listening to music can actually enhance the frontal lobe, which is used in thinking, decision-making and planning. Broca’s area, the part of the brain responsible for producing speech, is activated when a musician plays a song or when we sing along to the lyrics, improving the function of this area of the brain. To enjoy and analyze the sounds and lyrics we hear, Wernicke’s area, which helps us comprehend written and spoken language, is activated when we listen to music. Another part of the brain, the Cerebellum, is activated when we play an instrument. One of the main functions of the cerebellum is muscle control - including balance, coordinating our movements, and storing our physical memory. Another area of the brain involved in memory is the hippocampus. The hippocampus produces and retrieves memories and regulates our emotional responses. If you ever hear a song and are immediately reminded of an event or time in your life, it is because music has the ability to engage our memory systems.
Listening to music activates these areas of our brain, but learning how to play an instrument also engages several systems of the brain - motor systems, hearing systems, visual systems and memory systems. Musicians have seen improvements in cognitive skills, decision-making, and changes to their overall brain structure (How Does Music Affect Your Brain?, n.d.). Understanding not only how music activates our brain but how training to learn how to play an instrument improves brain functions has led to several interesting studies in the attempt to uncover just how our brain is affected by music. Some of these studies include understanding the relationship between music and memory. Several studies have been conducted with Alzheimer’s patients to help uncover the powerful effects of music and our memories. The parts of the brain that respond to music are close to the areas of the brain associated with memory, emotion, and mood (How Music Helps People with Alzheimer’s, n.d.). One study by Jacobsen, et al. 2015 indicated that there was greater preservation of brain areas involved in the processing of music (Jacobsen et al., 2015). Music can have the ability to tap into emotional recall, songs associated with important personal events can evoke the memory of lyrics as well as the emotional experience connected to music (How Music Helps People with Alzheimer’s, n.d.).e Further research must be done, but studies like this, are important in exploring the connection between memory and music. Over time, musicians, with continuous practice, are able to play their instrument without as much thought as once required when they were first learning. Our brain is able to make these associations and memories over time. Large areas of the brain are involved when one plays an instrument, including the motor cortex, the basil ganglia, and the cerebellum (University Oxford, 2017). These areas of the brain are involved in sending signals from the brain to a muscle in order to execute movements, initiate the movement, and then adapt to those movements and build memories (University Oxford, 2017).
Another area of the brain involved in memory is the hippocampus. The hippocampus produces and retrieves memories and regulates our emotional responses. Listening to music may increase neurogenesis, the generation of new neurons, in this region of the brain, improving memory. Music can be a powerful tool in activating not only our brains but certain memories or emotions. Do you ever just listen to a song and feel a sense of euphoria? You can attribute this to an area called the nucleus accumbens which becomes active when you hear a song. The nucleus accumbens plays a pivotal role in seeking pleasure and reward. In fact, music actually acts on the same part of the brain as drugs and as the ability to trigger the pleasure centers of the brain, releasing dopamine, and thus increasing feelings of happiness. As we plug in our earphones and hit play on our favorite song our brain is at work. It is fascinating how three minutes of a song has the ability to engage so much of our brains.
Music can be a powerful tool in activating not only our brains but certain memories or emotions. It has the ability to affect and even improve your mood. When we listen to music our brain undergoes a chemical response – impacting brain function and human behavior by reducing stress, pain, and symptoms of depression and even improving cognitive functions.
We have all experienced this before. The music we listen to can make us feel happy, sad, motivated, calm, or excited. Think about it, you most likely listen to different music when you are at work or trying to study, compared to when you are getting ready to go out on a Friday night. This is because music can set the tone of the environment and increase the release of certain neurotransmitters or hormones that affect our mood. According to neurological research, listening to music can affect mental health (Chanda & Levitin, 2013). When listening to music, and not even a certain genre of music, really just the type of music you enjoy, it has the power to reduce your stress levels by lowering cortisol levels in the body. This can lead to decreased feelings of anxiety. Music also triggers the release of serotonin, the neurotransmitter associated with feelings of happiness (Chanda & Levitin, 2013). Millions of people gather every year to see their favorite artists at a concert, share playlists on Spotify with friends, and bond over the new song that their favorite artist just released. Music has the power to connect people and culture – it can be universally enjoyed and can be a cultural resource in the construction and displays of emotions. The way a song is written, the combination of instruments to create a specific tone, and the carefully crafted lyrics have the ability to make us feel upbeat, sad, happy, calm, or energized. Music can be extremely healing. There is nothing like a long drive with a friend - windows are down, and your favorite song starts to play so you turn up the volume and start to sing along. The amount of happiness that can enter your body and leave you feeling lighter and more positive can be attributed to listening to that favorite song in the car. And even on the other end of the spectrum, listening to songs that help you feel certain emotions, even if that is sadness, can help us be in touch with our emotions and connect with how we are feeling in the moment. The next time you listen to music really reflect on how it makes you feel, not only emotionally but physically too.
Not only are there emotional and mental benefits to listening to music, but there are also physical benefits – including decreasing fatigue, enhancing exercise performance, and managing pain. Playing upbeat or faster-paced tunes can increase levels of adrenaline in the body - enhancing performance and keeping you awake. Listening to music can also trigger the release of opioids in the body – which are the body’s natural pain relievers. A study conducted in 2013, including twenty-two participants, demonstrated that those who were given a particular opioid-blocking drug, Naltrexone, experienced less pleasure while listening to their favorite songs – suggesting music played a role in activating the release of pain-relieving opiates (Garza-Villarreal et al., 2014). Just think back to your own experience, if you are someone who is into music, listening to certain lyrics or sounds has the ability to help calm you down and bring you to a place where you are able to forget, even just for a moment, things you might be dealing with or going through.
Research and additional studies are ongoing to understand more empirically the full emotional and physical impact of music. Understanding how music can impact our brain, emotions, and behaviors improves our self-awareness and ability to use this tool to our holistic benefit. It is quite incredible how a combination of sounds can make the hairs on our arms stand up, to make us feel overwhelmingly happy, or make us cry- that is the power of music.
Reference List:
admin. (2019, February 20). How does music affect the mind and body? - Medford leas. https://medfordleas.org/how-does-music-affect-the-mind-and-body/, https://medfordleas.org/how-does-music-affect-the-mind-and-body
Chanda, M. L., & Levitin, D. J. (2013). The neurochemistry of music. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17(4), 179–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2013.02.007
The powerful effect of music on the brain. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2022, from https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/articles/the-powerful-effect-of-music-on-the-brain.html
MD, A. E. B. (2020, October 7). Why is music good for the brain? Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-is-music-good-for-the-brain-2020100721062
University, O. (2017, December 14). The amazing phenomenon of muscle memory. Oxford University. https://medium.com/oxford-university/the-amazing-phenomenon-of-muscle-memory-fb1cc4c4726
Jacobsen JH, Stelzer J, Fritz TH, Chételat G, Joie R La, Turner R. Why musical memory can be preserved in advanced Alzheimer's disease. Brain. 2015;138(8):2438–2450.
How music helps people with Alzheimer’s. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.alzheimersmusicproject.org/how-it-works/
Music as medicine. (n.d.). Https://Www.Apa.Org. Retrieved September 20, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/11/music
Music and the brain: What happens when you’re listening to music. (n.d.). Pegasus Magazine. Retrieved September 20, 2022, from https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/your-brain-on-music/
How does music affect your brain? | tech effects | wired. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRE624795zU
Our brain on music: The sound system between your ears. (n.d.). The Kennedy Center. Retrieved September 20, 2022, from https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/your-brain-on-music/your-brain-on-music/your-brain-on-music-the-sound-system-between-your-ears/
Sloboda, J. A., & O’neill, S. A. (2001). Emotions in everyday listening to music. Music and emotion: Theory and research, 8, 415-429.
Powell, J. (2017, May 16). The science of songs: How does music affect your body chemistry? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/16/the-science-of-songs-how-does-music-effect-your-body-chemistry
Patel, D. (2019, January 9). These 6 types of music are known to dramatically improve productivity. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/these-6-types-of-music-are-known-to-dramatically-improve/325492
Lesiuk, T., 2005. The effect of music listening on work performance. Psychology of Music 33, 173–191.. doi:10.1177/0305735605050650
Keep your brain young with music. (2022, April 13). https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/keep-your-brain-young-with-music
Dr. Valorie salimpoor – the brain and new music. (2013, June 21). WAMC. https://www.wamc.org/academic-minute/2013-06-21/dr-valorie-salimpoor-the-brain-and-new-music
Garza-Villarreal EA, Wilson AD, Vase L, Brattico E, Barrios FA, Jensen TS, Romero-Romo JI, Vuust P. Music reduces pain and increases functional mobility in fibromyalgia. Front Psychol. 2014 Feb 11;5:90. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00090. PMID: 24575066; PMCID: PMC3920463.
(Thoma, M.V., La Marca, R., Brönnimann, R., Finkel, L., Ehlert, U., Nater, U.M., 2013. The Effect of Music on the Human Stress Response. PLOS ONE 8, e70156.. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0070156).
Watson, S. (2021, July 20). Oxytocin: The love hormone. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/oxytocin-the-love-hormone
Yuna L. Ferguson & Kennon M. Sheldon (2013) Trying to be happier really can work: Two experimental studies, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8:1, 23-33, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2012.747000