Music and Emotional Health

Everyone loves a catchy tune, and we know that interacting with certain kinds of music makes us feel good. But can music really improve our health and wellbeing? And how can music affect our aging process?

The American Music Therapy Association tells us that the healing properties of music were recognized by the ancient Greek writers Plato and Aristotle. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, researchers explored the application of music to the treatment of physical ailments. But the formalized use of music as therapy began after World Wars I and II to help recuperating veterans. The emerging field of Musical Medicine examines the science behind the effects of music and seeks to find ways to harness the power of music for therapeutic benefits.

The Cleveland Clinic defines musical medicine as a non-pharmacological therapeutic intervention using the power of music to manage various conditions. Music can improve the quality of life for people of all ages, and no musical background or specific musical skills are required.

Research into music intervention therapy is ongoing and has expanded over the past decade. The US currently has 9,000 certified musical therapists who work in a variety of settings, including geriatric care, physical rehabilitation centers, hospice care, residential communities, preventive care and wellness centers, and research.

Musical medicine is currently being used in the following ways:

• Provide motivation
• Boost our immune response
• Improve sleep quality
• Help relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression
• Reduce the sensation of pain

Dr. Daniel Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on Music; Music as Medicine: How We Can Harness Its Therapeutic Power; and Successful Aging, is a psychologist, neuroscientist, and musician who studies how the brain processes and responds to music. In a recent interview with the American Psychological Association, Dr. Levitin notes that evidence-based, scientifically controlled research that shows the efficacy of music as therapy is mounting.

Music-based interventions are able to help ease the challenges of aging by improving the quality of life for seniors and treating conditions associated with aging, such as depression and dementia. A 2023 review of music intervention research and older adults in the journal Medicine found that the positive physical and psychological health outcomes of music therapy include a sense of wellbeing and improved cognitive functions and physiological responses.

Specifically, research shows that “music intervention is an effective treatment for apathy and agitation in dementia.” The authors also cited chronic pain, sleep difficulties, and decline in cognitive function as being successfully treated by music therapy, although the authors note the need for ongoing research, particularly in the area of chronic pain.

A partnership between the National Institutes of Health and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts called the Sound Health Network explores connections among music, wellbeing, and aging. Cognitive Psychologist Aniruddh Patel, professor at Tufts University and author of Music, Language, and the Brain and soprano Renee Fleming are among those pursuing innovative research into the effects of music on the brain and how music can best be used as a therapeutic tool.

One of the partnership’s publications, Music-Based Interventions for Brain Disorders of Aging, published in May 2023 in the journal Neurology, explores the promise of music-based interventions, or MBIs, and how to develop a rigorous set of research-based criteria for study.

The authors cite the brain disorders of aging, including stroke, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and age-related dementias as focal points for ongoing research. Evidence-based results over the past decade indicate that music and other arts-based, nonpharmacologic approaches work in the following ways:

• Engaging different areas of the brain
• Strengthening brain networks and pathways
• Improving sensory and motor processing, particularly in the areas of emotion, affect, and memory

A study in the Journal of Clinical Nursing found that seniors suffering from depression experienced significant help via group music therapy, which increased the levels of the brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine associated with an elevated mood. The study noted that the limbic system in the brain in which emotions are generated and controlled is activated when we hear music.

Information from the Elder Care Alliance states that music enhances our moods, improves our level of interest in daily life, and increases our experience of positive emotions. Music also often occurs at the same time as opportunities for socialization, which is known to enhance the wellbeing of older adults.

Additionally, music often encourages physical activity, such as dancing at a party, and even modest activity is strongly associated with an elevation in mood.

An article in Psychology Today states that the frequency and beat of certain music can elicit mood changes, helping with depression, sleep quality, relaxation, and concentration. According to the nonprofit Sleep Foundation, initial research shows that binaural beats can help improve the quality of sleep. A 2024 review of 12 recent articles about the ability of binaural beats to help with anxiety and depression in the journal Applied Science found promise in the use of this emerging treatment technology.

Binaural beats refers to a kind of auditory illusion in which a tone is played into one ear at the same time a slightly different tone is played into the other ear. When listening to these tones, the brain perceives a third tone that has a frequency exactly halfway between the other two tones. To create binaural beats, the initial two tones must be below a certain frequency and not differ by more than 40 Hertz (Hz), which is the measure of the frequency of a sound wave.

Binaural beats can be created to synchronize with the frequencies of brainwave patterns. The Greek letters Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta represent the different types of brainwaves associated with different levels of activity. Gamma waves, for example, are indicative of the highest level of brain activity during intense concentration, progressing in lessening intensity to Delta waves, which are the slowest and present during deep sleep.

A publication of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) focuses on the connection between musical medicine’s influence on healthy aging and draws connections between music and memory enhancement. Neuroscience researcher and violinist Psyche Loui, PhD, is among those exploring these connections. Dr. Loui explains that the hard wiring of our brains naturally predicts rhythmic and melodic patterns in music. The process begins with the auditory cortex and also includes the brain’s “reward” system, which motivates us to seek out new learning and information. Music makes connections among these regions in the brain: the auditory cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex, which processes memories, and is also part of the brain’s dopamine-based reward system.

In an article entitled Could Musical Medicine Influence Healthy Aging, the NIH/NIA adds that both listening to and making music increases blood flow to the areas of the brain that generate and control emotions, again creating and enhancing connections. The limbic system—the interconnected brain structures that monitor behavior and emotions—are activated when we hear music.

Julene Johnson, PhD, is a flutist, researcher, and cognitive neuroscientist who also has an undergraduate degree in music. In her work as a professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing’s Institute for Health and Aging, she studies the impact of music on healthy aging adults and those with dementia.

A principle researcher with the Community of Voices study, she explored the use of community choirs for diverse older adult populations to increase interest and engagement in life and reduce loneliness—with positive results.

A Johns Hopkins program called ParkinSonics seeks to distract those suffering from Parkinson’s disease from their illness and allow them to focus on enjoying singing together and being creative. Singing together elevates the mood and spirit and improves neurologic function for those suffering from Parkinson’s disease. According to Johns Hopkins, “singing together in the group has helped increase participants’ vocal volume and clarity, rhythmic movement and confidence of emotional expression, while cultivating a sense of community.”

Bringing new ideas to active adult living is an integral part of Plymouth Harbor’s ethos. A community steeped in natural beauty, social connection, and artistic endeavors means myriad opportunities to embrace life, finding the sweet harmonies that come from living well every day.

Come explore Plymouth Harbor and learn more about this extraordinary community where the health and wellbeing of residents is an everyday commitment. Call 941-361-7512 to schedule your private tour and discover why life truly is better on Sarasota Bay!