This one thing can both cause and relieve anxiety! 🎶
I don’t know much about the Ancient Greeks, but I do know that Hippocrates is, to me, an absolute God! 🔱 He was a Greek physician, who practiced nearly 2,500 years ago, and is known as the Father of Modern Medicine. He recognised the importance of music in health and was amongst the first to use it to support mental health in his patients in 400 BC. The philosopher Plato said that “music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything”.
“Music… gives… wings to the mind” Plato
It is true that music lifts us. I often turn to Radio 2 for Zoe Ball’s Breakfast Show in the morning for some uplifting music, and her sprightly mood, to start my day positively. This morning was no exception as I was dancing around the kitchen, making my breakfast, to Funky Town! 😂 I challenge you to not want to move to that one, or maybe you have your own ‘go to’ song that you just have to jiggle around to!?
Music is composed of a series of different sound frequencies that are thought to impact the human body and brain in a variety of ways. Listening to, and being physically present with, these different sound waves can cause the brain (and therefore the body) to change state, which can be measured using an electroencephalogram (EEG). I certainly feel this when I'm at live music gigs and music festivals, and am ideally stood in the front row with the boom echoing through my chest! 💕
There are a variety of different brain wave frequencies and their associated states:
In scientific studies, music has been shown to significantly increase alpha (relaxed state), and reduce beta activity (problem-solving state), in patients with major depression, schizophrenia, or anxiety symptoms. Being in problem solving mode, associated with beta brain waves, can cause and perpetuate anxiety. Music therapy also alleviates anxiety levels [1]. It is thought that these effects are mediated in either of two ways: pleasant music helps patients enter a state of tranquillity, or distracts them from unpleasant feelings by stimulating the auditory receptors.
Beat it
The beat of music, and often the lyrics, can be lifting or calming, but it can also be agitating, or make us feel sad or anxious. Have you ever had to turn off the radio because it was getting on your nerves, and then realise you feel a lot calmer when it’s off? I suspect some of us would like to ‘switch off’ our children, or partners, at times 😂; although this isn’t currently an issue for me. This can also be true of the news, politicians, conversations or general noise around us. Negative people can also bring us down.
So how can we apply this to our mental health?
It is helpful to be aware of what we’re listening to and how it might be affecting us. We sometimes don’t realise that music, or the radio, playing in the background is grating on us, or making us feel down. So next time you’re listening to something or someone, tune in to how it is making you feel and have the awareness to make a change if necessary.
Don't stop movin' to the funky funky beat
We can also use music as a quick fix for a low mood. Sometimes putting on some upbeat music can really help lift our spirits. At the Getaways we share certain types of music that can also increase focus and promote beneficial brain waves, which help calm the body and rewire the brain in a positive way. Music forms one of the Ms in our C.O.M.M.O.N.S.E.N.S.E.S. approaches to feeling better instantaneously.
Music, the radio and podcasts can also be helpful to distract us from negative thought patterns. Music can also help to encourage us to get moving, like before a workout. It also stimulates the release of endorphins.
Good vibrations
Singing or humming along to music is also good for us. Listening to music creates vibrations in the body, and singing along amplifies their effect. These vibrations stimulate the vagus nerve, which connects the inner organs like the heart and gut to the brain, and plays a role in anxiety and stress. Stimulating the vagus nerve in this way activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms us and puts us into a rest and digest state (as opposed to fight or flight).
Laughing, gargling, splashing cold water on your face and manual innervation can also stimulate the vagus nerve, and this is why people chant ‘ohm’ when meditating. In severe cases of depression, Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS) may be used, which involves an electronic implant, usually inserted under general anaesthetic, which pulses at regular intervals.
Silence is golden
Sometimes silence is what is required, especially where music is grating on you. In fact, I spend a lot of my time listening to YouTube, podcasts, and online training because I’m always wanting to learn new things, however it can be overwhelming and lately I have been craving peace and silence. We forget how important it is to be in peace at times.
Silence is good for us. Humans are mostly in the state of fight or flight these days due to our frenetic lifestyles and always being ‘on the go’ and stimulated by constant noise, phone notifications and information being blasted at us. This makes it hard to rest, digest and repair, and yet this is really important for our mental and physical wellbeing. This is one of the premises of the Mental Health Getaways, hence being called a Getaway! Meditation and mindfulness can also bring us a sense of peace.
We’ll meet again
We hope this is a helpful reminder to make use of music to lift our moods and to tune out of what is making us feel less good.
Brownie points for those that can name all the artists of the song titles in this newsletter! 😝
Until next time…
Well wishes,
Andie. x
[1] Kučikienė and Praninskienė, Acta Medica Lituanica, 2018; 25(2): 101–106