Music has been impacting cultures, families, and societies for thousands of years. From classical music to modern rap, the sounds and beats play significant effects on listeners. While some people do not realize the exposure to music by playing an instrument or listening to albums has on an individual’s life, others are obsessed with this impactful art. Musicians have taken on the roles of icons in society. From the very words of the infamously controversial Kanye West, “My music isn’t just music – it’s medicine”. Music plays a crucial role in physical and mental health. With the aid of technological advances, scientists have been able to study the physiological advantages music has on the brain and body, as well as the emotional benefits. If society were to recognize the increasing significance music has on the body, then people would be able to improve social development, cure mental disease, as well as promote physical health.

Starting even before birth, mothers commonly play classical music for prenatal babies in the womb to expand brain development. Classical musician and author of The Mozart Effect, Don Campbell, argues the power of music and its effect on cognitive development in fetuses. He claims “[m]usic has a tremendous organizing quality to the brain”. (Scientific American). Since this claim is quite controversial, a more probable action parents can advocate is encouraging their children to learn how to play an instrument. Neurological studies have also been conducted on children who have been musically trained after only fifteen months. The study had proven musical practice enhances neurogenesis which is linked to improving cognitive skills in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in learning and memory. Additionally, musicians have significantly increased numbers of synapses, chemical connections between neurons that form circuits. These synapses are produced in the brain while learning (Portland Chamber Orchestra). In this modern world, the music industry is extremely difficult to break into, but there is no reason to refrain from learning how to play the guitar to expand the brain’s capacity to improve learning and memory at a young age.

During the emergence of adolescence, there are also tremendous societal advantages to listening to music because it promotes social development. By simply listening, music provides social development in peer interaction. Diana Boer, professor Goethe University Frankfurt, investigated two cultures and their traditional family rituals. She includes data and sources from studies of the brain as well as studies of music listening families in relation to “peer cohesion”. Her findings revealed “music listening in families and in peer groups contributes to family and peer cohesion” (Boer). Listening to music contributes to social contexts; when teenagers hang out after school, a fight for the “aux cord” is most likely to occur. The frequency of music at home and at school triggers “positive autobiographical memories”. Music brings people together, and even can lead to the start of new relationships. Throughout adolescence, there is a developmental shift: peer involvement is obvious as one attempts to gain independence. From early adolescence, a large amount of time and money is spent on musical activities, such as concerts and festivals, that are shared between friend groups. Shared musical preferences and activities contribute to friendship formation in adolescence and in young adulthood. The frequent topic of popular music is a common conversation starter for a shy adolescent to discover similarities with his or her classmates. 

Also, there is evidence that listening to music yields beneficial emotional experiences. The studies Boer presents in “Music Listening In Families And Peer Groups” emphasize these emotional experiences in daily lives when music is around. As children grow older, they will also realize music’s crucial impact through their stressful young-adult circumstances. Eileen Ferrer, instructor at the University of California, conducted a study in which a group of college students at California State University participated in an annual experiment by listening to song selections of their choice while in a class period. Results across all four years were statistically significant, demonstrating overall stress reduction in the study sample (Ferrer). The primary purpose of this experiment was to highlight the effectiveness of music therapy and its correlation to calming anxiety levels. Throughout the world, teens and adults suffer from work-related or family-related anxiety and stress. For example, a common stress factor people withstand on a daily basis is road rage. Cars are designed with a radio system, which is advantageous to calming anxiety levels. Listening to music while driving provides multiple advantages that do not come to mind since the radio has become second nature. An additional study set place in the Netherlands revealed cardiovascular measures and respiration rates that resulted in safer driver performances as well as an inducement in moods safety (Van Der Zwaag). Therefore, listening to music while driving results in a more relaxed body which promotes driver safety. 

These studies bring about the question: Can listening to music bestow equivalent aid that a modern day drug could provide? Previously mentioned, the study proved being in a musically involved environment induced lower stress levels. In regards to the calming stress, this music therapy can be applied to people of all ages, not exclusively college students. Cortisol, the stress hormone that interferes with learning, memory, and immune function, is released in response to fear or stress by the adrenal glands as part of a mechanism in defense to stress (Bergland). 

Listening to music provokes an “altered state of consciousness” with the same feeling certain drugs have on an individual’s mental state. Answering the question earlier speculated - yes, music does have the ability to help people diagnosed with fatal illnesses in an intriguing way. In Music and Altered States: Consciousness, Transcendence, Therapy and Addiction, David Aldridge discusses the influence music, in particularly music therapy, has on individuals diagnosed with end-stage illnesses through spirituality. Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. Music therapy emerges four themes: relationship, remembrance, prayer, and peace. Aldridge claims “music facilitates transcendence”, which is “the process in which humans move beyond the immediate time, place, circumstance and transport to places and concepts of meaning, enlightenment and inspiration”. This process is prominent to people coping with tragic illnesses and eventually leads to faith and hope, then sense of meaning and purpose. Self-identity is of utmost importance when facing struggles and obstacles throughout life; music evokes such feelings since “there is a natural and universal association between singing and human relationships”. If music can aid those with end-stage illnesses, the power of listening is magical and endless. 

One example of an illness music has been shown to help cure is Alzheimer’s disease. Those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease suffer from a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. This disease has effected millions of people across the world, with multiple organizations trying to cure individuals that are diagnosed, such as the Music and Memory Certified Care Organization. By allowing their patients to listen to favorite past-time music, this organization taps into meaningful memories not lost to dementia or Alzheimer’s bringing participants “back to life” (Home). Dr. Lauren Mosqueda, from Music and Memory, claims “Beloved music often calms chaotic brain activity and enables the listener to focus on the present moment and regain a connection to others” when she appeared on an informative talk show, “The Doctors”.  Dr. Mosqueda and the show’s host, Dr. Travis Stork, displayed a visual presentation of the most damaged areas of the brain when diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and thoroughly explained the brain’s processes when listening to music. When an individual hears the lyrics of a song, Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area of the brain become involved. But the medial prefrontal cortex is triggered instantly when “there is a particular memory taken place” which helps develop a “long term memory that is associated with a certain song” (McGraw). By analyzing individuals affected by this tragic disease, Dr. Mosqueda was able to witness an elderly man who was unable to speak to his own daughter but when presented with a song from his past, he was “reminiscing about the good old days”. Dr. Mosqueda’s research for Music and Memory has played a significant role in discovering cures for families and loved ones impacted by memory loss. Music is an inexpensive remedy to stress, as well as a much cheaper alternative to rigorous therapy, if utilized correctly. The best part, everybody is free to choose the music suit fit for them or their memories, not one person is obligated to listen to any artist in particular. 

In relation to mental health disorders, the nation is suffering from insomnia related disorders. Lack of sleep can result in depression, fatigue, and negatively impact regular body functions such as one’s metabolism. Over 30% of Americans suffer from insomnia and society is desperate to find a solution (Health Fitness Revolution). Participants who complained about struggling with sleep participated in a study where they listened to classical music for forty-five minutes prior to falling asleep for three weeks. In the Journal of Advanced Nursing, it was “confirmed that listening to relaxing classical music has a positive effect on sleep quality”. If listening to soothing music has been studied and proven to improve the quality of sleep, hospitals should recognize the wondrous effect this inexpensive solution has on patients and those suffering from insomnia.

Another example of health-care through Music Therapy is the serious problem in treating major depression disorders. According to WebMD, major depressive disorder affects “an estimated nineteen million American adults” and even when taking an antidepressant people still “experienced symptoms of depression”. Although society has deemed depression as an unspoken or rare issue, more people are progressively opening up and becoming comfortable with discussing issues regarding mental health awareness. Fortunately, the concern of mental health has been accepted by todays’ world; an individual is welcomed to discuss his or her struggles. Even if struggling to do so, listening to music is a commonly underestimated resort to dealing with major depression disorders. Music has always been an outlet to express suppressed emotions, with any genre in particular - it is an art that grants freedom of expression and inspires creativity. Whether one realizes the strong emotional effects music has or not, the presence is undeniable. In fact, there have been recorded studies in Music Therapy to analyze the effects listening to music has on those suffering from depression. 

A study published in January by the Cochrane Collaboration, a London-based nonprofit that publishes reviews of health-care interventions, suggests that listening to or making music with trained therapists can help in treating depression. The group found five randomized studies that examined music therapy and four reported that depression symptoms lessened more among those who were randomly assigned to music therapy than those who received treatment that did not involve music (Chung). Various of other studies have been conducted by researchers, such as Professor Gold of a Finnish research team that found “mind-wandering mode goes into action when your brain processes a song” (Silny). Gold has also stated, “Our trial has shown that music therapy, when added to standard care including medication, psychotherapy and counseling, helps people to improve their levels of depression and anxiety”. It has been proven when an individual is listening to music, a chemical, dopamine, is released into the brain that acts as a “feel-good” neurotransmitter. A neuroscientist at McGill University injected music adductors with a substance that binds with dopamine receptors after they had listened to their favorite tunes. The results of a PET scan displayed the significant amounts of dopamine released during the conducted experiment. These participants reportedly felt emotions such as happiness (Health Fitness Revolution). Due to the twenty-first century technological advances in Apple and Samsung products, music is presented to society at such an easy access. With apps such as Spotify and Pandora, individuals are able to stream thousands of songs at the touch of a button. The power of music has changed the lives of many; artists write about emotional and personal experiences through their song lyrics. If access to music has become this convenient, taking the time to listen to a couple of songs a day can drastically improve one’s mental health. 

Bettering society’s mental health is a primary focus in the United States, but the country has also been increasingly concerned with fitness and physical health. Social media is filled with thousands of accounts dedicated to convenient “at-home” workouts and easy exercises to do throughout the day. Studies that have taken place demonstrate listening to music while performing routine exercises are proven to be more efficient. Dependent on the specific exercise, the music will vary; while in a yoga class, the preferred music is therapeutic, but while on the treadmill for lengthy periods of times, the favorable music is typically energetic and upbeat. In 2009, a study at Brunel University in West London examined the impact of motivational music on endurance and a range of psychophysical indices during a treadmill workout. Over twenty individuals participated in this experiment where they selected a program of either pop or rock tracks from an artist and workout until the point of exhaustion. Results from this experiment “indicate that motivational synchronous music can elicit an ergogenic effect and enhance in-task affect during an exhaustive endurance task” (Karageorghis). When an individual is enduring a rigorous workout, it is best to divert his or her attention away from the intensity. Instead, providing one with inspiring music of choice will distract the brains’ attention and focus on the pure enjoyment of the artist. Prior to working out, it is suggested to create a playlist filled with positive songs that provoke cheerful memories. As mentioned, music and mood are evidently linked. To increase dopamine, Christopher Bergland, of Psychology Today, suggests to randomize song choices and to “play around with all genres of music” to bring the most out of a vigorous workout. Since physical fitness has evoked a worldwide desire, music will make the task more enjoyable for those that are tired of the monotonous routine or beginners that are just starting to get in shape. 

In contrast to previous claims, there is one man who is in disagreement with the beneficial impact listening to music has on society: Julian Treasure. Julian Treasure is a sound consultant at Sound Agency that advises businesses on how to use sound properly. In 2010, he presented his own Ted Talk in which he emphasizes the damage society is doing to their health by listening to music. He not only explains what and how people are unsafely listening to music, but he also provides healthier alternatives to his audience in eight steps. As a drummer himself, he presents this Ted talk with passion towards the music industry and focuses on ways to better its’ role in the modern world. In reference to the European Union, Treasure states “Noise kills 200,000 people a year in Europe”. He also mentions the physical damage people are engaging in “headphone abuse” due to compression of which sixteen percent of American teenagers suffer from noise-induced hearing disorders (Treasure). Clearly, Treasure addresses imperative issues in his Ted Talk; but these issues do not have to go without resolutions. By taking careful conscious and care in the way individuals participate in music listening, there will be little concern in damaging hearing. Instead of blasting music through cheap headphones, turn down the volume a notch and invest in headphones that cause less harm. 

The magic behind music has continuously been underestimated for decades. Music is an art that needs to be appreciated by more than just artists; the benefits need to be recognized by therapists and doctors to better the health of their patients. Cultures have been inspired by music since the beginning of time, but scientists have only recently determined the crucial impact listening to music has on both mental and physical health. By listening to music, people are benefitting through physiological and psychological impact. If music has the power to better social interactions, relieve stress, and help heal end-stage illnesses, the entire world should be prioritizing listening to music. Rather than taking advantage of the simple access to streaming music, make use of the incredible opportunity technology has to offer. Friedrich Nietzsche one stated, “Without music, life would be a mistake”. 
