Music as Therapy

Music therapy is used all over the health realm nowadays, it seems. It got me thinking about music as a form of stress relief. Sure enough, many types of music may be used to reduce stress throughout the day. I like to listen to very up-tempo music on my ipod as I am running to help me keep up my momentum and energy. Occasionally, I will have trouble falling asleep and I will use soothing music on these nights.


Here are some good tips on listening to music throughout the day:
1. Lower your stress and put yourself in a good mood starting with when you first wake up by listening to your favorite song, band, etc. while getting ready.
2. Listen to music of your choice on your way to work or school to put the stress of the day and that huge "to do" list out of your mind.
3. Listen to upbeat music while cleaning to make chore work fun!
4. Slower or classical music has been scientifically shown to "help you eat less and promote digestion" (Sopoco, 2008, p. 2). So, make sure to put on that music while you are eating dinner or other meals where you have the opportunity to sit down.

Music sets the mood, so make sure you choose your selection of music accordingly. Concentration and alertness are stimulated with faster beats and faster brainwaves while meditative and hypnotic states may be achieved with slower beats while slowing brainwaves.