![]() ![]() Sound processing begins in the brainstem, which also controls the rate of your heartbeat and respiration. As Harris points out, "An exercise class without music is unimaginable." Like other pleasurable sensations, listening to or creating music triggers the release of dopamine, a brain chemical that makes people feel engaged and motivated. Help people recovering from heart surgery to feel less pain and anxiety (and possibly sleep better). Help heart rate and blood pressure levels to return to baseline more quickly after physical exertion Improve blood vessel function by relaxing arteries For example, studies have found that listening to music mayĮnable people to exercise longer during cardiac stress testing done on a treadmill or stationary bike Music can also alter your brain chemistry, and these changes may produce cardiovascular benefits, as evidenced by a number of different studies. When stroke survivors practice walking to music, it helps steady their gait and improves the speed, symmetry, and length of each stride. "When people entrain, it makes the neurological process more efficient because everything fires at the same time," says Harris. The technique works for all types of movement. But asking them to "sing" a familiar song using simple syllables (such as "la" or "fa") instead of words helps entrain their motor or muscle-activating nerves, which helps them recover their speech. "For example, when you hear a steady rhythm, it activates your auditory system but also automatically engages your motor system," explains music therapist Brian Harris of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.Īfter certain types of strokes, people can't move the muscles in their tongue or lips (dysarthria) and therefore aren't able to speak clearly. The reason lies in music's widespread effects on the brain, which cultivate a process known as entrainment.Įntrainment refers to the simultaneous activation of neurons from different parts of the brain. ![]() ![]() Music therapy can help stroke survivors recover their ability to speak and move. Singing - and striding - stroke survivors And it helps to explain how and why music therapy works (see "Singing - and striding - stroke survivors"). This global activation happens whether you listen to music, play an instrument, or sing - even informally in the car or the shower, he says. "There is no other stimulus on earth that simultaneously engages our brains as widely as music does," says Brian Harris, certified neurologic music therapist at Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. You might not realize that music engages not only your auditory system but many other parts of your brain as well, including areas responsible for movement, language, attention, memory, and emotion. Whether you prefer Stravinsky's symphonies or the Beatles' ballads, you probably listen mostly because you simply like how they sound. Listening to music may boost exercise ability, ease stress and anxiety, and enhance recovery from strokes. ![]()
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