Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Can music therapy have other benefits besides pain relief?

by Dan Ritchey


     Music therapy has been known to relieve pain in some patients. However music can also have other positive effects as well. According to stress.about.com, "Music has also been found to bring many other benefits, such as lowering blood pressure (which can also reduce the risk of stroke and other health problems over time), boost immunity, ease muscle tension, and more... Research has shown that music with a strong beat can stimulate brainwaves to resonate in sync with the beat, with faster beats bringing sharper concentration and more alert thinking, and a slower tempo promoting a calm, meditative state. Also,research has found that the change in brainwave activity levels that music can bring can also enable the brain to shift speeds more easily on its own as needed, which means that music can bring lasting benefits to your state of mind, even after you’ve stopped listening."
     Because of its many potential benefits, music therapy is becoming more widely used by healthcare providers in the United States.
References:
Scott, E. (2011, October 27). Music and Your Body: How Music Affects Us and Why Music Therapy Promotes Health. About.com Stress Management. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/a/music_therapy.htm


Scot

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