Music can improve your mental and physical wellness

For millions of people, music brings pleasure every single day. Whether it is just a song on the radio, a personal playlist put together for the commute to work, or by making their own compositions and playing instruments.

Aside from just simple enjoyment, music brings a whole wealth of bonuses with it. It may seem surprising to some, but music can affect brain development, physical strength, mental health, moods, confidence, and general health, depending on how you use it.

Music is even believed to be able to enhance the effect of pain relievers, meaning that doses can be kept at lower and safer levels for patients. If you want to understand the magical effects that music can have, please carry on reading below. 

Learning instruments improve confidence

Just as going to the gym or losing some weight can affect a person and give them a boost, learning to play an instrument can do the same. The reason for this? Actually, there are a few.

Musicians gain confidence from learning to perform in front of people. Also, when they create something original it can be highly rewarding, especially when it is enjoyed and received well by others. Musicians learn resilience as it can be difficult to learn an instrument or play f chord guitar easily. By continuing and persevering, learning to play brings a sense of belief that more can be achieved, and thus confidence blossoms inside the musician. 

Music changes a person’s mood which affects mental wellness

Just as a piece of music can make a person sad, it can also make them happy. Music is being used in different forms of therapy now to aid with the mental well-being of patients.

It appears that music can aid patients with symptoms of anxiety, stress, PTSD, and depression. Travel can improve mental health but sadly because of the pandemic most people have been restricted from going too far, but music is everywhere. This makes it ideal for helping patients reduce their anxiety and alleviate other symptoms. 

Music can help you get healthier and work quicker

Exercising can sometimes be tough, especially when it is a cold, dark, winter’s morning. The last thing you want to do is to go jogging in the drizzling rain when you could be cozy and warm in bed. However, music can give anyone a surprising boost of motivation.

Simply by choosing the right music for your playlist, you will be making your exercise routines easier. There is a reason that places of work play music sometimes. The night shift for shelf stackers is a good example of where a mundane job can become easier through the help of energetic music. Of course, the same is true, pick the wrong music and you might work or exercise slower, so be careful!

When you are trying to grind through a work-out or finish the last few hours of a mundane work shift, music can help you get there. It will help you to forget about the boring activity you are doing, or the pain you are feeling trying to get through the last couple of kilometers and help you to push on and finish.

Once you have finished, you get that other benefit of feeling good about your accomplishment and having your confidence improved too. 

Music can lead to cognitive development

It has been shown that musical training can help a child’s development in so many ways. A child who learns an instrument at a young age may have a better memory, be able to tackle a second language easier, and have an improved reading ability.

While music cannot repair damage to a patient’s cognitive abilities in later life, it can help reduce the symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer's by lessening the anxiety and stress that an individual feels.

Music can affect the brain in many ways from simple emotions to stimulating development. Research has led medical professionals to believe that someone who studies music and plays an instrument is likely to be able to stave off cognitive degeneration in later life. In short, playing music can help keep your brain younger for longer. 

It can improve your social life

If anyone was unsure of how important it is to have human contact before the pandemic struck, then they may be aware now. Most people need some human interaction in their lives and it helps to keep them physically and mentally well.

Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety grew during 2020 as people were forced into self-isolation and lockdowns. Partly as a response to this, the WHO organized the Big Event for Mental Health last year. This brought a range of people together including musicians such as Lady Gaga to try and promote awareness and support for mental health.

Being involved in music opens up the doors to meeting people from all walks of life who have a common interest. It may be that you meet fellow music fans at gigs, or you could end up forming a band with new friends, or perhaps collaborating on music production together.

There are many platforms such as SoundCloud that can help bring musicians and music lovers closer together and this social aspect is good for the general health and well-being of an individual. 

It could lead to a career

A healthy part of any individual’s life is being busy and productive. Being able to make a living from something that you love is the goal of most people, but many don’t have a means of doing this.

A love of music may be all that is needed but if you are talented and practice enough you may be one of the lucky ones who make cash from their hobby. Session musicians, record shop owners, tour managers, promoters, and producers, all make money from music in one form or another.

The level of happiness that comes from doing something you love cannot be measured but the effect it will have on your mental and physical wellness is something that you will most definitely feel. 

How can you use music to help you?

If you want to learn an instrument and enjoy the benefits from this hobby then you will need to borrow or buy something to play. A guitar is always a popular choice, and a secondhand acoustic guitar needn’t break the bank.

Find a friend to show you a few chords or perhaps take some private lessons if you have the budget. Alternatively, follow the route of many famous guitarists and teach yourself. Resources such as Chordify can help musicians learn chords fast and they are suitable for piano, guitar, and ukulele. 

Summary

It seems incredible that something that most people take for granted can do so much to help with mental and physical health. Music can help patients with their anxiety levels, and also help children to develop their brains.

Drumming and guitar playing will strengthen different parts of the body, and piano playing will improve posture. Learning music can help improve and retain memories, and will teach the individual about resilience and perseverance.

Music will improve social lives, and boost confidence, and perhaps most importantly, it is an extremely enjoyable part of life. Whether you are listening to a favorite album at home or banging your head in the mosh pit, music can make everyone feel better about themselves, even just for a short while.

(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)