music for babies – calmingharp

Surprising Effects of Music

by Steve Rees | Feb 23, 2014 | Effects of Music Posts

I wanted to include this article from eMedExpert (online e-zine) because it has a lot of great references at the end of the article. If you are researching the effects of music, these references will be a great tool in getting you exposed to a lot of the literature that is out there supporting the use of music for so many areas of our lives – in health and well being. Much of this information I have included in previous postings, but the review is good and once again, these references are great! Enjoy.

How Music Affects Us and Promotes Health

Music is one of the few activities that involves using the whole brain. It is intrinsic to all cultures and can have surprising benefits not only for learning language, improving memory and focusing attention, but also for physical coordination and development.

Of course, music can be distracting if it’s too loud or too jarring, or if it competes for our attention with what we’re trying to do. But for the most part, exposure to many kinds of music has beneficial effects:

1: Music heals

Effective therapy for pain

Overall, music does have positive effects on pain management. Music can help reduce both the sensation and distress of both chronic pain and postoperative pain.

Listening to music can reduce chronic pain from a range of painful conditions, including osteoarthritis, disc problems and rheumatoid arthritis, by up to 21% and depression by up to 25%, according to a paper in the latest UK-based Journal of Advanced Nursing²⁹.

Music therapy is increasingly used in hospitals to reduce the need for medication during childbirth, to decrease postoperative pain and complement the use of anesthesia during surgery³⁰.

There are several theories about how music positively affects perceived pain:

Music serves as a distractor
Music may give the patient a sense of control
Music causes the body to release endorphins to counteract pain
Slow music relaxes person by slowing their breathing and heartbeat

Reducing blood pressure

By playing recordings of relaxing music every morning and evening, people with high blood pressure can train themselves to lower their blood pressure – and keep it low³¹. According to research reported at the American Society of Hypertension meeting in New Orleans, listening to just 30 minutes of classical, Celtic or raga music every day may significantly reduce high blood pressure.

Medicine for the heart

Music is good for your heart. Research shows that it is musical tempo, rather than style. Italian and British researchers³² recruited young men and women, half of whom were trained musicians. The participants slipped on head phones and listened to six styles of music, including rap and classical pieces, with random two-minute pauses. As the participants kicked back and listened, the researchers monitored their breathing, heart rates and blood pressure. The participants had faster heart and breathing rates when they listened to lively music. When the musical slowed, so did their heart and breathing rates. Some results were surprising. During the musical pauses, heart and breathing rates normalized or reached more optimal levels. Whether or not a person liked the style of music did not matter. The tempo, or pace, of the music had the greatest effect on relaxation.

Speeds Post-Stroke Recovery

A daily portion of one’s favorite pop melodies, classical music or jazz can speed recovery from debilitating strokes, according to the latest research. When stroke patients in Finland listened to music for a couple of hours each day, verbal memory and attention span improved significantly compared to patients who received no musical stimulation, or who listened only to stories read out loud, the study reports³³.

Chronic headaches & migraine remedy

Music can help migraine³⁴ and chronic headache³⁵ sufferers reduce the intensity, frequency, and duration of the headaches.

Music boosts immunity

Music can boost the immune function. Scientists explain that a particular type of music can create a positive and profound emotional experience, which leads to secretion of immune-boosting hormones²². This helps contribute to a reduction in the factors responsible for illness. Listening to music or singing can also decrease levels of stress-related hormone cortisol. Higher levels of cortisol can lead to a decreased immune response^23-24.

2: Effects of music on the brain

Music enhances intelligence, learning and IQ

The idea that music makes you smarter received considerable attention from scientists and the media. Listening to music or playing an instrument can actually make you learn better. And research confirms this.

Music has the power to enhance some kinds of higher brain function:

Reading and literacy skills^11-13
Spatial-temporal reasoning^14-15
Mathematical abilities^16-17 Even children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder benefit in mathematics tests from listening to music beforehand.
Emotional intelligence

The Mozart effect

Earlier it has been thought that listening to classical music, particularly Mozart, enhances performance on cognitive tests. However, recent findings¹⁸ show that listening to any music that is personally enjoyable has positive effects on cognition.

Music improves memory performance

The power of music to affect memory is quite intriguing. Mozart’s music and baroque music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activates the left and right brain. The simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of information. The information being studied activates the left brain while the music activates the right brain. Also, activities which engage both sides of the brain at the same time, such as playing an instrument or singing, cause the brain to be more capable of processing information.

Listening to music facilitates the recall of information19. Researchers have shown that certain types of music are a great “keys” for recalling memories. Information learned while listening to a particular song can often be recalled simply by “playing” the songs mentally.

Musical training has even better effect than just listening to classical music. There is clear evidence²⁰, that children who take music lessons develop a better memory compared with children who have no musical training.

Note: For learning or memory performance, it’s important that music doesn’t have a vocal component; otherwise you’re more likely to remember the words of the background song than what you’re supposed to be recalling.

Music improves concentration and attention

Easy listening music or relaxing classics improves the duration and intensity of concentration in all age groups and ability levels. It’s not clear what type of music is better, or what kind of musical structure is necessary to help, but many studies have shown significant effects21.

3: Music improves physical performance

Music improves athletic performance

Choosing music that motivates you will make it easier to start moving, walking, dancing, or any other type of exercise that you enjoy. Music can make exercise feel more like recreation and less like work. Furthermore, music enhances athletic performance^6-8! Anyone who has ever gone on a long run with their iPod or taken a particularly energetic spinning class knows that music can make the time pass more quickly.

The four central hypotheses explaining music’s facilitation of exercise performance include:

Reduction in the feeling of fatigue
Increase in levels of psychological arousal
Physiological relaxation response
Improvement in motor coordination

Music improves body movement and coordination

Music reduces muscle tension and improves body movement and coordination25-26. Music may play an important role in developing, maintaining and restoring physical functioning in the rehabilitation of persons with movement disorders.

4: Music helps to work more productively

Fatigue fighter

Listening to upbeat music can be a great way to find some extra energy. Music can effectively eliminate exercise-induced fatigue⁹ and fatigue symptoms caused by monotonous work¹⁰.

Keep in mind that listening to too much pop and hard rock music can make you more jittery than energized. Vary what you listen to and find out what type of music is most beneficial for you. You could try classical music one day, pop the next day and jazz the third.

Music improves productivity

Many people like to listen to music while they work and I am certainly one of them. How about you? Did you know you can perform better at your work with music? Whilst there may be many reasons for wishing to listen to music in the workplace, it really improves your productivity²⁷!

According to a report in the journal Neuroscience of Behavior and Physiology28, a person’s ability to recognize visual images, including letters and numbers, is faster when either rock or classical music is playing in the background.

5: Music calms, relaxes and helps to sleep

Relaxing music induces sleep

Relaxing classical music is safe, cheap and easy way to beat insomnia1. Many people who suffer from insomnia find that Bach music helps them. Researchers have shown that just 45 minutes of relaxing music before bedtime can make for a restful night².

Relaxing music reduces sympathetic nervous system activity, decreases anxiety, blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate and may have positive effects on sleep via muscle relaxation and distraction from thoughts.

Music reduces stress and aids relaxation

Listening to slow, quiet classical music, is proven to reduce stress³. Countless studies have shown that music’s relaxing effects can be seen on anyone, including newborns.

One of the great benefits of music as a stress reliever is that it can be used while you do your usual deeds so that it really doesn’t take time.

How does music reduces stress?

Physical relaxation: Music can promote relaxation of tense muscles, enabling you to easily release some of the tension you carry from a stressful day.

Aids in stress relief activities: Music can help you get “into the zone” when practicing yoga, self hypnosis or guided imagery, can help you feel energized when exercising and recover after exercising, help dissolve the stress when you’re soaking in the tub.

Reduces negative emotions: Music, especially upbeat tunes, can take your mind off what stresses you, and help you feel more optimistic and positive. This helps release stress and can even help you keep from getting as stressed over life’s little frustrations in the future. Researchers discovered⁴ that music can decrease the amount of the cortisol, a stress-related hormone produced by the body in response to stress.

6: Music improves mood and decreases depression

Prescription for the blues

Music’s ability to “heal the soul” is the stuff of legend in every culture. Many people find that music lifts their spirits. Modern research tends to confirm music’s psychotherapeutic benefits5. Bright, cheerful music (e.g. Mozart, Vivaldi, bluegrass, Klezmer, Salsa, reggae) is the most obvious prescription for the blues.

References

¹Harmat L, Taka’cs J, Bo’dizs R. Music improves sleep quality in students. J Adv Nurs. 2008 May;62(3):327-35. PubMed

²Lai HL, Good M. Music improves sleep quality in older adults. J Adv Nurs. 2005 Feb;49(3):234-44.

³Labbe’ E, Schmidt N, Babin J, Pharr M. Coping with stress: the effectiveness of different types of music. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2007 Dec;32(3-4):163-8. PubMed

⁴Khalfa S, Bella SD, Roy M, Peretz I, Lupien SJ. Effects of relaxing music on salivary cortisol level after psychological stress. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003 Nov;999:374-6. PubMed

⁵Maratos AS, Gold C, Wang X, Crawford MJ. Music therapy for depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Jan 23;(1):CD004517. Review. PubMed

⁶Simpson SD, Karageorghis CI. The effects of synchronous music on 400-m sprint performance. J Sports Sci. 2006 Oct;24(10):1095-102. PubMed

⁷Edworthy J, Waring H. The effects of music tempo and loudness level on treadmill exercise. Ergonomics. 2006 Dec 15;49(15):1597-610. PubMed

⁸Copeland BL, Franks BD. Effects of types and intensities of background music on treadmill endurance. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 1991 Mar;31(1):100-3. PubMed

⁹Jing L, Xudong W. Evaluation on the effects of relaxing music on the recovery from aerobic exercise-induced fatigue. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2008 Mar;48(1):102-6. PubMed

¹⁰Ladenberger-Leo E. Effect of music on the general feeling of persons performing monotonous work. Med Pr. 1986;37(6):347-52. PubMed

¹¹Besson M, Schon D, Moreno S, Santos A, Magne C. Influence of musical expertise and musical training on pitch processing in music and language. Restor Neurol Neurosci. 2007;25(3-4):399-410. PubMed

¹²Register D. The effects of an early intervention music curriculum on prereading/writing. J Music Ther. 2001 Fall;38(3):239-48. PubMed

¹³Overy K. Dyslexia and music. From timing deficits to musical intervention. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003 Nov;999:497-505. PubMed

¹⁴Spatial-Temporal Task Performance Jausovec N, Jausovec K, Gerlic I. The influence of Mozart’s music on brain activity in the process of learning. Jausovec N, Jausovec K, Gerlic I. Clin Neurophysiol. 2006 Dec;117(12):2703-14. PubMed

¹⁵Sarnthein J, vonStein A, Rappelsberger P, Petsche H, Rauscher FH, Shaw GL. Persistent patterns of brain activity: an EEG coherence study of the positive effect of music on spatial-temporal reasoning. Neurol Res. 1997 Apr;19(2):107-16. PubMed

¹⁶Schmithorst VJ, Holland SK. The effect of musical training on the neural correlates of math processing: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in humans. Neurosci Lett. 2004 Jan 16;354(3):193-6. PubMed

¹⁷Rauscher FH, Shaw GL, Levine LJ, Wright EL, Dennis WR, Newcomb RL. Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children’s spatial-temporal reasoning. Neurol Res. 1997 Feb;19(1):2-8. PubMed

¹⁸Schellenberg EG, Hallam S. Music listening and cognitive abilities in 10- and 11-year-olds: the blur effect. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2005 Dec;1060:202-9. PubMed

¹⁹Mammarella N, Fairfield B, Cornoldi C. Does music enhance cognitive performance in healthy older adults? The Vivaldi effect. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2007 Oct;19(5):394-9. PubMed

²⁰Ho YC, Cheung MC, Chan AS. Music training improves verbal but not visual memory: cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations in children. Neuropsychology. 2003 Jul;17(3):439-50. PubMed

²¹Patston LL, Hogg SL, Tippett LJ. Attention in musicians is more bilateral than in non-musicians. Laterality. 2007 May;12(3):262-72. PubMed

²²Kuhn D. The effects of active and passive participation in musical activity on the immune system as measured by salivary immunoglobulin A (SIgA). J Music Ther. 2002 Spring;39(1):30-9. PubMed

²³le Roux FH, Bouic PJ, Bester MM. The effect of Bach’s magnificat on emotions, immune, and endocrine parameters during physiotherapy treatment of patients with infectious lung conditions. J Music Ther. 2007 Summer;44(2):156-68. PubMed

²⁴Kreutz G, Bongard S, Rohrmann S, Hodapp V, Grebe D. Effects of choir singing or listening on secretory immunoglobulin A, cortisol, and emotional state. J Behav Med. 2004 Dec;27(6):623-35. PubMed

²⁵Bernatzky G, Bernatzky P, Hesse HP, Staffen W, Ladurner G. Stimulating music increases motor coordination in patients afflicted with Morbus Parkinson. Neurosci Lett. 2004 May 6;361(1-3):4-8. PubMed

²⁶Rosenkranz K, Williamon A, Rothwell JC. Motorcortical excitability and synaptic plasticity is enhanced in professional musicians. J Neurosci. 2007 May 9;27(19):5200-6. PubMed

²⁷Fox JG, Embrey ED. Music – an aid to productivity. Appl Ergon. 1972 Dec;3(4):202-5. PubMed

²⁸Pavlygina RA, Frolov MV, Davydov VI, Milovanova GB, Sulimov AV. Recognition of visual images in a rich sensory environment: musical accompaniment. Neurosci Behav Physiol. 1999 Mar-Apr;29(2):197-204. PubMed

²⁹Siedliecki SL, Good M. Effect of music on power, pain, depression and disability. J Adv Nurs. 2006 Jun;54(5):553-62.

³⁰Nilsson U, Unosson M, Rawal N. Stress reduction and analgesia in patients exposed to calming music postoperatively: a randomized controlled trial. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2005 Feb;22(2):96-102. PubMed

³¹Teng XF, Wong MY, Zhang YT. The effect of music on hypertensive patients. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2007;2007:4649-51 PubMed

³²Bernardi L, Porta C, Sleight P. Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory changes induced by different types of music in musicians and non-musicians: the importance of silence. Heart. 2006 Apr;92(4):445-52. PubMed

³³Sarkamo T, Tervaniemi M, Laitinen S, Forsblom A, Soinila S, Mikkonen M, Autti T, Silvennoinen HM, Erkkila J, Laine M, Peretz I, Hietanen M. Free Full Text Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke. Brain. 2008 Mar;131(Pt 3):866-76. PubMe

³⁴Oelkers-Ax R, Leins A, Parzer P, Hillecke T, Bolay HV, Fischer J, Bender S, Hermanns U, Resch F. Butterbur root extract and music therapy in the prevention of childhood migraine: an explorative study. Eur J Pain. 2008 Apr;12(3):301-13. PubMed

³⁵Risch M, Scherg H, Verres R. [Music therapy for chronic headaches. Evaluation of music therapeutic groups for patients suffering from chronic headaches. Schmerz. 2001 Apr;15(2):116-25. German. PubMed

All information is for educational purposes only.

Music Therapy in Action

by Steve Rees | Jun 9, 2013 | Music Therapy

Tiny preemies get a boost from live music therapy

Note: One of my readers, Abigail, sent this article to me and it very much reflects the experiences I have had while playing the harp at the bedside. Very good information. Thanks for your interest. If anyone else of my readers has an article to share, send it in – Thanks and Blessings – Steve

By LINDSEY TANNER – The Associated Press

CHICAGO — May 16, 2013

As the guitarist strums and softly sings a lullaby in Spanish, tiny Augustin Morales stops squirming in his hospital crib and closes his eyes.

This is therapy in a newborn intensive care unit, and research suggests that music may help those born way too soon adapt to life outside the womb.

Some tiny preemies are too small and fragile to be held and comforted by human touch, and many are often fussy and show other signs of stress. Other common complications include immature lungs, eye disease, problems with sucking, and sleeping and alertness difficulties.

Recent studies and anecdotal reports suggest the vibrations and soothing rhythms of music, especially performed live in the hospital, might benefit preemies and other sick babies.

Many insurers won’t pay for music therapy because of doubts that it results in any lasting medical improvement. Some doctors say the music works best at relieving babies’ stress and helping parents bond with infants too sick to go home.

But amid beeping monitors, IV poles and plastic breathing tubes in infants’ rooms at Chicago’s Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, music therapist Elizabeth Klinger provides a soothing contrast that even the tiniest babies seem to notice

“What music therapy can uniquely provide is that passive listening experience that just encourages relaxation for the patient, encourages participation by the family,” Klinger said after a recent session in Augustin’s hospital room.

The baby’s parents, Lucy Morales and Alejandro Moran, stood at the crib and whispered lovingly to their son as Klinger played traditional lullabies, singing in Spanish and English.

“The music relaxes him, it makes him feel more calm” and helps him sleep better too, Lucy Morales said. “Sometimes it makes us cry.”

Some families request rock music or other high-tempo songs, but Klinger always slows the beat to make it easier on tender ears.

“A lot of times families become afraid of interacting with their children because they are so sick and so frail, and music provides them something that they can still do,” Klinger said, who works full time as a music therapist but her services are provided for free.

Music therapists say live performances in hospitals are better than recorded music because patients can feel the music vibrations and also benefit from seeing the musicians.

More than two dozen U.S. hospitals offer music therapy in their newborn intensive care units and its popularity is growing, said Joanne Loewy, a music therapist who directs a music and medicine program at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.

Preemies’ music therapy was even featured on a recent episode of the hit TV show “American Idol,” when show finalist Kree Harrison watched a therapist working with a tiny baby at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

“Music is such a huge part of our lives and to do something like this, make it a sort of healing process, is a cool thing,” Harrison said on the April 25 episode.

Dr. Natalia Henner, a newborn specialist at Lurie hospital, said studies in nursing journals show music therapy for preemies “does help with promoting growth. And there’s some good literature … saying that the time to discharge is a little bit shorter in babies who’ve been exposed to more music therapy.”

She said it “definitely facilitates bonding” between parents of preemies and other babies too sick to go home.

Loewy led a study published last month in the journal Pediatrics, involving 11 U.S. hospitals. Therapists in the study played special small drums to mimic womb sounds and timed the rhythm to match the infants’ heartbeats. The music appeared to slow the infants’ heartbeats, calm their breathing, and improve sucking and sleeping, Loewy said.

Soozie Cotter-Schaufele, a music therapist at Advocate Children’s Hospital-Park Ridge near Chicago, says soothing rhythmic sounds of music can mimic womb sounds and provide a comforting environment for preemies. She sings and plays a small harp or guitar, and says the sounds help calm tiny babies while they’re undergoing painful medical procedures.

Cotter-Schaufele said she recently heard from a woman whose daughter was born prematurely at her hospital six years ago. She had played the 1960s folk song “Today” for the infant.

The mother reported her daughter “‘still loves that song,” She said ‘She didn’t learn that song from me, she learned it from you,'” Cotter-Schaufele said.