Why music matters

Topics mentioned: music, looking after your mental health

About: Zara shares her experience of music, and how it can help your mental health.

I was born to the sound of music: the gentle tones of a Swahili love song were sung to me when my Kenyan-born grandparents visited me by my hospital cradle.

The song Malaika carries my family’s cultural heritage, it traces the roots of immigrants and was carried forward to a new life in England. It also has a very soothing melody, one that any baby or adult would feel at ease with.

Music is more than sound and a personal narrative though. For babies, music can help calm their limbic system, as they respond to the gentle emotional qualities of music. Music releases dopamine during a pleasurable musical experience, which can help make us all more attentive, alert, engaged and optimistic.

For adolescents, music can be a balm, connecting people over shared interests and helping transport the mind to a better or new place. For older people, music can be nostalgic, triggering memories and helping to motivate movement.

Young people can really benefit from music, as the brain treats itlike a reward. When we activate this system, dopamine is released, which unlocks feelings of pleasure and motivation which can be essential when we are learning, or struggling to find motivation to study or undertake a dull task. Think back to sporting events, public events and formal events: music is the common denominator. It uplifts, sets the tone, creates momentum.

Used in the same way for babies, the science can be extended across age groups. Science dictates that at the right tempo, music can reduce the heart rate, blood pressure and levels of the stress hormone cortisol through rhythmic entrainment syncing the heart beat with the song. It encourages the body to slow down, through encouraging slower breathing, moving the body’s reactive “fight or flight” from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic activation.

Music is a great resource to set the mood before sleep, before an exam or just a resource when times feel pressured.

Music is also an intangible way to document your own life story. Favourite playlists and song collections can not only reflect who you are, your roots, connections and culture, but can also document where you were at a particular moment in time. Tapping into this, and returning to song collections, can reignite memories, remind you of good times and connections, and allow you to escape into a pleasant past.

In the lyrics of songs and familiar or catchy melodies, we can sometimes consciously or unconsciously connect with ourselves and other people’s experiences. In times of isolation or pain, we might feel alone. However, there are many songs, whether popular or niche, that cover a myriad of social themes, reflecting our shared humanity. You are never alone when you can find a connection with a song.

Music has limitations. It cannot replace formal or professional help. However, it can be part of a mental health support system or tool kit that is portable and largely free. It is part of my DNA, my everyday lived experience, and it is worth exploring if you do not use it as a daily resource. Music is so versatile that you can create preferred playlists to suit moods, experiences and emotions.