Are there any health benefits of listening to music, especially slow music, like some of my friends claim?

Anita

Dear Anita,

Your friends are right in this regard. Listening to music helps the mind to relax. It releases useful neurochemicals such as dopamine which give a feeling of well being. For this reason music helps the body and mind to relax. It is said to boost the immune system and enhance body’s capacity to fight infection. Mental concentration is said to improve after listening to music regularly. It increases sharpness and focus of mind, thus it also helps in preventing senile dementia (cognitive disturbance of old age).As it reduces stress, helps a person to sleep better, and it prevents stress-related diseases. Depression reduces after listening to soft music. Self control increases in those listening to music regularly, thus helping in preventing or reducing obesity which comes due to excess eating.

It also enhances the physical stamina. Athletes and who perform after listening to inspirational songs perform better than others. Muscles of the body tend to relax with soft music, a property used by many surgeons while operating on a person to minimize his stress and pain.

Thus listening to soft music is overall beneficial for physical and mental health of a person.

Dr Rachna Pande is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital