{"id":3733,"date":"2018-08-07T15:31:19","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T15:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/?p=3733"},"modified":"2023-10-25T20:27:52","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T20:27:52","slug":"music-is-medicine-with-no-side-effects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/music-is-medicine-with-no-side-effects\/","title":{"rendered":"Music Is Medicine With No Side Effects"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Music can definitely be relaxing. Tempos ranging from 60 to 70 beats have been found to be soothing, because they reflect the similar pace of your heart. A number of clinical studies have shown that music can reduce cortisol levels (the stress hormone), as well as assist in reducing blood pressure and heart rate.<\/p>\n<p>In his article \u201cOur Musical Brain,\u201d Dr. Lars Heslet writes that scientific trials using EEGs, or electroencephalograms, have demonstrated that \u201cthe slow rhythms in classical music cause the brain to change from Beta to Alpha activity, and rhythmic music can produce the lowest frequency [Delta] waves.\u201d<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Beta waves, as you may or may not know, are the fastest of the four brain waves and occur when your mind is actively engaged.<\/li>\n<li>Alpha waves are lower in frequency and tend to be associated with relaxation and daydreaming.<\/li>\n<li>Theta waves are slower still and are present during deep meditation.<\/li>\n<li>The slowest brain waves\u2014delta\u2014are present during deep, dreamless sleep.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/sound-healing-8-health-benefits-to-note\/\">Music is, on that basis alone, a good adjunct to massage in that it can enhance the relaxing effects of massage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/237I6IkezZA\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Melodies, tunes, songs and gorgeous musical instruments are also helpful at blocking ambient noise from one\u2019s consciousness. For example, a study reported on in the journal <em>Adolescence<\/em> found not only that patients who were exposed to music during or after surgery had less pain and needed less morphine, but also that random noises on the hospital ward were subdued by the music because the mind focuses on the music, thereby becoming less conscious of other noise.<\/p>\n<p>Whether in association with a massage or not, music has the potential to help promote healing. It has been used since the time of the ancient Greeks to calm the mentally ill and, since the invention of the phonograph, at least, to help hospital patients sleep and become less anxious before surgery.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers within the field of psychoacoustics\u2014defined by Mosby\u2019s Medical Dictionary as \u201cthe branch of science concerned with the physical features of sound as it relates to the psychologic and physiologic aspects of the sense of hearing in the unimpaired ear\u201d\u2014are investigating the ways in which sound, especially music, can promote healing.<\/p>\n<h3>The Case for Binaural Beats<\/h3>\n<p>Much of this work involves the use of beat frequencies to influence brainwaves; in particular, binaural beats. Normally, when your brain is confronted with binaural beats\u2014two pure tones or sine waves of similar frequency\u2014coming one to each ear, it uses the phase difference between the two beats to provide the listener with directional information. But when such beats are received through headphones or speakers, your brain perceives them as a fluctuating rhythm. Numerous researchers have shown such rhythms to be effective in producing beneficial brain-state changes, from changes in focus and levels of awareness, to pain management and treatment of alcoholic depression.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive alignnone wp-image-3735 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/binaural-beats3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/binaural-beats3.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/binaural-beats3-300x194.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Andrew Weil suggests that, because \u201cstress and deep-seated tension are primary or aggravating causes of most cases of illness and frequently obstruct the body\u2019s effort to return to a state of health,\u201d using binaural beats to alter brainwave frequencies can help to \u201ckeep the mind from interfering with the healing system.\u201d Working with a team of brainwave experts and musicians, Dr. Weil has created \u201cpsychoacoustically designed music\u201d to promote the body\u2019s own tendency to restore health.<\/p>\n<p>A piece of music I would play during my massage sessions incorporated symphonic music with Tibetan bowls and other Asian instruments. This is Dr. Weil\u2019s \u201cSymphony of Brainwaves.\u201d There are binaural beats incorporated into the music. In addition to having played \u201cSymphony of Brainwaves\u201d for my clients, I also frequently used this piece of music to help get me through stressful and scary doctor and dentist procedures. It kept me calm and relaxed.<\/p>\n<h3>The Positive Effects of Sound on Your Body<\/h3>\n<p>The study of the effects on the body of sound, including music, is a relatively new field so those looking for scientific proof of cause and effect may be disappointed. Part of the problem is that, as Dr. Weil says, \u201cwe know less about this potential of the body [to heal itself] than we should because conventional medicine is focused so much on disease. Doctors do not collect and study cases of healing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the body of evidence, if you\u2019ll excuse the pun, is growing that supports the positive effects of sound on healing. And even if music only helps you relax psychologically, it is clearly a copacetic accompaniment to the physical relaxation you experience during massage\u2014and even while performing massage on your clients.<\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s your favorite music to play for clients? <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Comment below!<\/span><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You may think that the music played during a massage is nothing more than a relaxing distraction from ambient noises such as sirens, loud conversations, or a grumbling belly. But music, whether in association with a massage or not, has the potential to help promote healing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":3740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sound-healing"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3733"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6288,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3733\/revisions\/6288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}