“Healthy is a state of the body. Wellness is a state of being”
Health is the most valuable treasure in a human’s possession. It is the state of physical, mental and social well-being. Maintaining good personal health carries a lot of importance. Among all questions related to human body, health must overcome all aspects and become the reference point for finding answers.
Many factors affect human health. These include food, physical activities and human behavior. Music is part of them. Outwardly healthy wellbeing starts from the inside. Mental health has the highest impact on human activities and music is an important part of mental health. Imagine listening to your favorite song when you are sad! How does it make you feel? It wipes out all sadness, making you calm and happy.
“The body is like a piano, and happiness is like music. It is needful to have the instrument in good order”
Music has the power to control our emotions and make us feel strong emotions such as joy, happiness, sadness or fear. Our brain has different ways to process different parts of music. Fast-beat music can increase our heart rate, breathing and blood pressure, especially when we are in a state of excitement or anger. Slow-beat music has the opposite effect. These changes affect our health.
By listening to music, we acquire many positive outcomes. Studies show that listening to music helps us regulate emotions, be happy and relaxed on the daily. It helps reduce stress and anxiety. Music can improve aerobic exercise, speed up mental and physical stimulants and increase the overall performance of the body. Furthermore, studies show that repetitive and rhythmic melody helps our brain to form different patterns that enhance memory. In a study among stroke survivors, those that engaged in music activities had more verbal memory, less confusion and were found to be more focused and attentive. Music therapy has been used to develop communication and express feelings in patients who are seriously ill. Musical activities help people with Alzheimer’s to recall lost memories and maintain certain mental capabilities. Studies among autistic children showed improvements in responding, communicating and attentive behavior when they were treated with music therapy. Therefore it is clear that the impact of music on human health is undeniably huge.
All things present in today’s world strike health negatively. The food we eat and the environment and society we associate with, have immense means of destroying our health. It is really easy to disrupt our good health, but it is very hard, and in some cases, impossible to restore it. So, it is in our hands to be wise and take care of our health. It’s a choice of priorities.
“Music is life. That’s why our heartbeats”
Hansa Chathumina Bandara Weerakoon Arachchilage
EBH2023