Music Therapy: Healing Your Body and Mind with Music

Do you know that music therapy is part of the treatment programs in many hospitals, health clinics, and rehabilitation centers? This is because music has been proven to heal the body, mind, and soul of individuals who are ill-conditioned, depressed, and addicted to drugs and alcohol. Find out how music heals.

Music is a universal language. It could transcend languages, time, and cultural differences. It can make you laugh, cry, renewed and smile. But more than affecting your mood and mental performance, studies reveal that music have therapeutic benefits. Called the music therapy, it could significantly lessen blood pressure, reduce pain and anxiety, enhance relaxation, communicate with brain-damaged patients and even set the pace for gait training.

Scientists believe that listening to music stimulates the release of natural chemicals in our brains called endorphins that causes the “high” feelings because they block pain signals from the nervous system. Also, endorphins are believed to boost the immune system, reduce stress and pain.

Music reduces stress because in addition to lowering heart rate, skin temperature and muscle activity, it facilitates the identification and feelings associated with stress and express these in positive ways.

For people with physical disabilities, music can be utilized as motivation for movements or structure exercises. Background music enhances physical exercise, develops and maintains joint and muscle function and increases muscle strength. Those with speech problems can use music or singing to improve breathing control, articulation, pronunciation and rate of speech.

Studies also reveal that listening to music for hours helps the patients heal faster. It distracts them from pain and worry, improves their appetite and sleep and helps them cope with their illnesses. This is believed to be beneficial for patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy who suffers from nausea and vomiting from medication. It may not be the cure, but the peace of mind and relaxation music brings to both the cancer patients and the families can already make a major difference.

Music can really do wonders for the mind, the soul, and the body. So, if ever you feel down and depressed, you just have to turn on the radio and get lost with music.

The Importance of Good Health

When it comes to achieving utmost comfort and contentment in everyday living, the importance of good health cannot be overstated. Heath is wealth, and this will always be true.

Benefits of Good Health

Primarily, we need good health to be able to perform our work and duties well every day. With a sound and healthy body, we can wake up every morning peacefully and accomplish our personal tasks until the evening, no matter how demanding they can be.

A healthy person is an asset to himself and to the people around him. When a person is healthy, he has enough energy to live completely, as opposed to merely existing in this world. And it is this tremendous energy and radiance that allows him to do abundant deeds and accomplish greatness, enabling him to live longer and up to the maximum. Having good health, therefore, starts with having a body and mind that are free of any sickness and ill-condition.

Good health not only promotes quality of life, but extends the living years of an individual. Many social science researches have proved the positive relationship between good health and aging. From the Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences 6th Edition by Robert H. Binstock and Linda K. George, health is so pivotal to the aging experience because it enhances quality of life over the life course, thereby reducing the likelihood of premature morbidity, disability, and death of a person.

Being healthy, in other words, is one of the important pillars of achieving happiness and having a long, accomplished life. It is, therefore, everyone’s responsibility to strive to have and maintain good health.

Prevention is the Key to Good Health

While there is always a solution to any problem, preventing the occurrence of a problem is a wiser, life-changing move. Same goes for health. By engaging in preventive health, one can eliminate the manifestation of diseases and infections in the body. Prevention wards off the use of medication to treat illnesses brought by bad nutrition and improper lifestyle, along with possible medical and hospital expenses.

Scientific research continues to confirm that prevention, which mainly comprises of good nutrition, exercise, and supplementation, can positively impact one’s health and overall well-being, because it aims to strengthen the immune system of the body and avoid it from acquiring negative health conditions,

Preventive health, therefore, must be planned and executed ahead of time, especially when illness is not yet present in the body. Diseases should be prevented early on, or at least delayed in their onset until a ripe old age is reached. When the body is free of any ill condition and well-balanced with the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspect of life, good health is attained. And this starts with prevention and taking good care of the body.