Page 70 - Time Special Edition Alternative Medicine (January 2020)
P. 70
The Sound
of Healing
We all know the power of music to move us, but research
shows that tuneful therapy is a natural painkiller as well
BY STACEY COLINO
imagine a World Without music. it Would be way to describe your kicking back with the latest
quieter, for sure, but it might also be more painful, Beyoncé song. It’s an evolving and seriously scien-
maybe even less healthy. Music, to put it simply, can tific undertaking that has been shown to induce def-
be good medicine. And not just for the soul. “Cer- inite changes in the central nervous system’s activ-
tain selections nourish your physical body,” says Hal ity. “Music helps stimulate theta and alpha waves
Lingerman, author of The Healing Energies of Music. in the brain that are more associated with creativity
“Others will bring greater health to your mind.” and insight,” explains David Rakel, chair of the De-
If you’ve ever relied on a Foo Fighters riff to fire partment of Family and Community Medicine at the
you up for a workout or Handel’s Water Music to University of New Mexico. That’s right: it can actu-
soothe your frayed nerves, you have an idea of what ally help you think more clearly. More important, the
Lingerman is getting at. But those interludes don’t right rhythms have been shown to reduce the stress
begin to hit all the high notes. Music can relieve pain response and increase the relaxation response. And
and anxiety, enhance immune function and brain a cooler head can mean a better-functioning body.
function, alleviate stress and spur physical reha- OK, so that’s not exactly a fresh idea; Aristotle
bilitation. From life’s beginning (when it can ease and Plato both wrote about the healing powers of
the agony of childbirth and calm babies in neonatal song. But music therapy didn’t become a formal-
intensive-care units) to its end (comforting those in ized field until after World War II. Musicians often
hospice care and lightening the grief of loved ones), visited veterans’ hospitals to entertain those suf-
music isn’t just the soundtrack of our existence. It fering the scars of war, and it didn’t take long for
can be a conductor of our well-being. doctors and nurses to recognize the positive effects,
Let’s be clear: music therapy isn’t just a fancy both physical and emotional, that the performances
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