Mediation and listening to music are both excellent for your health.
Mediation refers to a state where you focus your attention and senses inward to induce relaxation. On the other hand, music helps evoke positive emotional responses that can distract you from pain and stressful situations.
And while meditation has long been known for its health benefits, music has been chiefly known as a source of entertainment. But this is changing, as it has become increasingly clear that music does more than just make you move your feet.
Music therapy has been used in hospitals to help patients deal with pain, depression and anxiety. And thank god for social media sites such as Spotify that now makes it easier to listen to music everywhere and anywhere. In fact, many music creators and therapists are now using growth services such as Spotiflex Spotify growth service to actually make money helping others relax through good music.
This article gives you six key health benefits that you gain when you meditate and listen to music.
Pain Relief
A study that researched the relationship between mindfulness meditation and pain relief found that meditators felt less pain than non-meditators. Mindfulness meditation which focuses on being aware of the present moment was shown to reduce the unpleasantness of the pain in the research study.
On the other hand, music therapy has been used on patients undergoing surgical procedures due to its ability to improve outcomes. Music therapy has also been shown to reduce pain perception, give patients better control over their pain, and reduce the pain medication needed after surgery.
Helps You Sleep Better
If you’re struggling with insomnia, music and meditation can help. According to a study documented in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal, mindfulness meditation improves sleep in older adults suffering from sleep disturbances. The randomized clinical trial done in the US further reported that mindfulness meditation improved sleep disturbances compared to structured sleep programs.
Listening to calming classical music has also been shown to ease insomnia. A study that observed college students who listened to classical music before bedtime recorded that the sleep quality of students who listened to classical music was better than those who listened to an audiobook or nothing at all during bedtime.
Eases Anxiety and Depression
Yale University researchers found out that mindfulness meditation helped reduce activity in the brain areas associated with wandering thoughts and anxiety. Besides, meditation has been accepted for the longest time as a valuable therapy for depression and anxiety.
Past research has also found that music therapy is an effective and safe treatment for depression and anxiety. In one study, music therapy was recommended as a low-risk solution for reducing anxiety in patients with neurological issues such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and dementia.
The best type of music for anxiety and depression include classical and meditation music.
Good for Your Heart
According to Harvard Medical School, people who practice meditation are less likely to suffer from a heart attack. Meditation changes your brain activity, lowers your heart rate, levels of cortisol, adrenaline levels, breathing, and blood pressure rates, all of which reduce your risk of getting a stroke or a heart attack. Some of the recommended meditations to improve heart health include:
- Guided meditation – The use of mental images to encourage relaxation
- Transcendental meditation – uses repeated phrases to help one empty their mind of negative thoughts
- Mindfulness meditation – focuses on the acceptance of the present without judgment
Music is both good for the soul and the heart. A study presented at the American College of Cardiology conference indicated that patients who suffered from chest pains after a heart attack had less pain after they listened to music daily for half an hour. Research also suggests that music therapy can lower the heart rate and blood pressure of patients living with heart disease.
Helps with Weight Loss
Even as you exercise and eat well to watch your weight, you should know that meditation is also good for weight loss. Meditation is a great stress reliever, something that drives most people to eat more. Meditation also makes you more aware of your actions, even the ones that relate to food. In one research review, meditation was reported to reduce binge and emotional eating
Music can also help when it comes to weight loss. One study recorded that people who listen to mellow music while eating and eat with dimmed lights consume less food than those who ate in ordinary surroundings. Music creates a relaxed setting that helps you eat your food slowly and become more alert when you become full.
Improves Motivation
Meditation helps you stay focused. For instance, guided meditation increases focus and concentration, which are both linked to motivation. Further, meditation enables you to relax, which results in enhanced focus and motivation. Meditation also improves your mood, and when you’re happy, you become more confident about yourself and your abilities.
Many people find it easier to exercise when listening to music. Fast-paced music, according to researchers, is a great motivator. In a recent study that sought to determine the impact of music on motivation, students were requested to cycle stationary bikes while listening to a playlist of various songs that had varying tempos. The students’ performance was determined at different music speeds. The results indicated that speeding up the music led to increased performance compared to slowing down the tracks’ speed.
There you have it, six ways how meditation and music can boost your health. Now thinks of how you can incorporate music and meditation into your everyday life to enjoy these benefits.