The Health Benefits of Music – Can Instruments Improve Your Health?

People always talk about how music is good for the mind. Even before a child is born, people encourage mothers to play their child’s classical music to increase brain function.

These old wives’ tales may actually have some truth to them. Scientific research has proven that there are some huge health benefits of music gained by listening to and playing music.

Below, we are going to talk about some of these benefits, and how to pick the right instrument for yourself.

Instrument Choice

Different instruments have different benefits, so if you want to pick up an instrument, have a play around and see what works for you. You are going to want to find an instrument you enjoy playing, but also you might want to consider your individual needs to help guide you.

Here are a couple of instruments and how they can help your mind:

• Drums: Drums are great as they can be bought a second pretty cheaply if you investigate sites like https://www.drumcenternh.com/.
  
• Whether you buy just one drum or a full kit, you will see your stress levels, muscle tension, and fatigue decrease; and notice improvements in your strength and hand-eye coordination.
  
• Woodwind: These instruments are especially good for learning to breathe deeply and smoothly rather than short and shallow. Playing woodwind instruments strengthens the lungs and respiratory system. Good breathing techniques are effective in reducing anxiety and stress.
  
• String instruments: Piano, violin, cello or guitar are great stress-relievers as you’re keeping your hands occupied with intricate movements, which helps focus your brain and shut out negative thought patterns.

Whatever you choose to play, you will see the benefits of music on mental health in some way. Learning instruments improves your creativity and opens up new opportunities, like joining clubs or bands.

Feeling like you’re learning new things and meeting new people wards off depression, improves your memory, and has a whole host of advantages for your mindset.

Improvements

To follow on from the brief overview above, no matter when you pick up your instrument or introduce music into your life, you will find your outlook brightens and life becomes fuller.

Learning as a child sharpens the mind, improves hand-eye coordination, and teaches focus and discipline. But even as you get older there different benefits to listening to music or picking up an instrument.

According to this article on LiveScience if you learn an instrument later in life you can alleviate and compensate for the natural cognitive decline we all eventually experience. Better yet, you can decrease stress levels and help ease anxiety and depression if you listen to or learn to play music.

Aside from the improvement, you can see mentally, your heart can also benefit from music. Small as it might be, some studies have found that music can decrease blood pressure, help with mood and emotions, increase the heart rate, and increase blood flow which can potentially help with pain and relieve those suffering from heart disease.

These effects can have amazing benefits for your overall health.

Conclusion

Although most research points to the brain being the most affected by music, there are still other aspects that get a boost too. More research may still need to be done to get the science stamp of approval, but you as an individual can vouch for your personal experiences. Whether you hideaway with noise-canceling headphones on playing your favorite tunes, or pick up the violin to increase your brain’s ability to focus – if you feel a difference, that is all that really matters!

Music can really have a great impact on your life, and as we discussed above health benefits of music so use it as a tool to help you. If you use it alongside other things like a healthy diet, exercise and regular breaks from the outside world, you may just find that you are happier and healthier overall.