Music and Our Troubled Times

Bob Marley once said, “One good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain.”

Riffing off of Marley’s statement, Dr. Patrick Quillan, Ph.D, author and nutritional expert states that music and laughter are the best medicine. And, “stress is a killer and music is a healer.” Not many people would disagree I suspect. And then there was the 17th century German philosopher and mathematician, Gottfried Leibniz who wrote that, “The biological implications of music – even just listening—can have extraordinary therapeutic capacities. The music that you listen to, whether it’s singing or playing an instrument, actually change the way the brain functions. Listening to music, which hopefully many of us have done to ease anxiety and depression during these difficult and restraining times, help reduce blood pressure and pain as well as improve sleep quality. Another plus, certain types of music develop mental alertness and memory. How so? It’s structural and architectural as it’s based on the relationship between one note and the next so your brain has to do a lot of computing to make sense of it. Is it possible we can get smarter? Maybe. I’ll take that any day.

As a suggestion, pay attention to how you react to different forms of music and choose the kind that works for you. What helps one person concentrate may be a total distraction for another.

Studies show for any moment of anger, depression, and inability to change your environment, you will significantly depress your immune system. Music, and I’ll add laughter, are part of nature’s natural pharmacy.

Tags: Bob Marley, Patrick Quillan, Ph.D, Gottfried Liebniz, music/alertness