Lifestyle: Pastimes

How Music Moves You

If you want to improve your well-being, make music part of your wellness program.

You can't go anywhere without your iPod. Nor can anyone else, it seems, for in today's society, music has become an all-important focus. True, perhaps part of the infatuation with this portable music simply boils down to a desire to shut people out. Who, for instance, likes getting stuck on a plane or train next to someone who talks non-stop?

Yet while that might be one reason, it's certainly not the only one. Think, after all, of how music has moved you in your own life. Maybe you use music to help you connect with certain memories. Or maybe you tune into music to motivate you to exercise or relieve stress.

Sound familiar? While you might not think anything of this -- it's just music, right? -- researchers, on the other hand, have been studying the power of music on the mind and body, and their results all point to this one common theme: Music does indeed move us and may play a large role in our health and well-being.

This is something Mitchell L. Gaynor, founder and president of Gaynor Integrative Oncology in New York City and author of Sounds of Healing (Broadway, 1999), knows first-hand. In his practice, Gaynor integrates Eastern and Western medical practices. So when he meets with patients who have been diagnosed with cancer, he does everything a traditional oncologist would do but adds sessions with chanting and music. "Seeing a cancer specialist is perhaps one of the most stressful situations in life," he says. "Yet on that most stressful day, patients tell me they experience the most peace and relaxation, largely because of the music."

Managing stressful situations is just one benefit of music. Numerous studies have found that music also has a positive effect on the immune system. For instance, studies have found that individuals who listen to music before an operation need less pain medication. For cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, listening to music that relaxes or inspires them may reduce their need for anti-nausea medication they need. One study has even linked music with faster wound healing while another revealed that people with chronic joint pain report less pain when listening to music. Even premature infants in intensive care units may benefit, as studies have shown that properly administered music therapy can help these babies gain weight and leave the hospital earlier.

The benefits don't stop there, though. Music may also improve depression and anxiety, lower blood pressure and boost workout motivation. Even seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong swears by his iPod to help motivate him to run.

So just what happens to our bodies when we listen to music? That's a question researchers are still trying to answer, but there are some theories. "All of the senses feed the mind and body," says David Simon, MD, medical director and co-founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing in Carlsbad, California, and a board-certified neurologist. "Just as there are nourishing foods versus toxic foods, there are nourishing and toxic sounds."

Our relationship with sound actually starts in the womb where we experience vibrations that can either be peaceful or stressful. At that early stage, we begin associating sounds in the environment with internal states, and this continues across the lifespan.

As for music's connection to better health, Simon points to ayurveda, a holistic system of medicine from India. "One of our core principles at the Chopra Center, which comes from ayurveda, is that the most powerful pharmacy on earth is the human body," Simon says. "By consciously providing nourishment through the five senses, including our hearing, we can awaken that internal pharmacy."

There are also theories that relate more to the physiology of the body. "Every time you get stressed, your heart begins to make subtle irregular rhythms," Gaynor says. As a result, the heart sends corresponding signals to the brain which then releases stress hormones into the body, lowering immunity, raising blood pressure and interfering with digestion.

Yet when you're at peace, the opposite happens. Your heart goes into regular rhythms, which is sent to the brain which then releases chemicals that improve your well-being. As it turns out, "music puts your heart into regular rhythms," Gaynor says.

Here's another interesting point to consider: "Because the body is 70 percent water, it's an excellent conductor for sound and vibration," Gaynor says, pointing to studies that have been done on water freezing. When water is exposed to pleasant music before freezing, it forms a beautiful shape. If, on the other hand, it's exposed to disharmony, it forms dysmorphic shapes. So music can perhaps even affect us on the molecular level.

That's why wellness experts recommend listening to music on a regular basis. Fortunately, though, there's no right or wrong when it comes to choosing what type of music to listen to. What you get from Josh Groban, for instance, your friend might get from Aerosmith. The key is paying attention to how your body responds as you're listening to different types of music, says Simon. Once you've figured out what type strikes a chord with you, replace some of the toxic sounds in your life--like talk radio and the nightly news--with music. You can also tailor the music to your needs. For instance, if you're looking for more energy, listen to songs that excite you or get your adrenaline pumping.

But you don't just have to enjoy music passively to improve your well-being. "I encourage people to make music, too," says Therese M. West, PhD, music therapy program director at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. "It's never too late to learn an instrument, and if you never play for anybody but yourself, you're stimulating yourself mentally and enjoying all of the numerous benefits of music."

--Karen Asp covers health, fitness, and active travel for numerous publications including Self, Shape, and Woman's Day. She's also the fitness columnist for Allure and the sport training columnist for columnist for Oxygen.