LYRICALLY FELT

After WWII, music and sound became recognized as a legitimate medium for therapy in the West. It was a successful approach for physical, mental and emotional conditions of wounded servicemen. There was a clear result in “decreased depression, greater socialization, enhanced morale, increased emotional expression, and improved contact with reality” (Gaynor 77).

The advantage of sound and music is that it bypasses analytical thought. Instead of taking a scenic route through receptors and electrical impulses to the brain, it directly affects the emotions and nerves. Instead of explaining a feeling to someone’s rational mind, the use of sound vibrates our cells and tissues, “activating a range of experience far beyond what the eyes are capable of perceiving by themselves.” The perceptions of the ear are “ten times more accurate” than the eye. Humans can hear “between 16 and 20,000 Hz” and “can register sounds that spread across a greater dynamic range, than the eye can perceive without damage” (Paul 8 and 118). Perhaps when we become better listeners and more receptive to our surrounding sounds, we can find ways to use sound to our advantage. Here are some ways that music can change physiology:

Mark Rider Southern Methodist University found that sound has an influence on protective cells of the immune system, which fight invading pathogens and perform the task of regenerating injured tissues.
Dr. Jeffrey Thompson California Inst. for Human Science Center for Neuro-Acoustic Research uses sound frequencies to treat learning disabilities and a wide range of physical disorders.
40 patients who suffered heart attacks showed reduced anxiety, heart and respiratory rates decrease when they had been exposed to “relaxing music” -lowered systolic blood pressure
Reduced blood pressure and heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure
Conversely noise can initiate fight or flight response and increase blood pressure by 10%
1993 MSU scientist- found levels of interleukin-1 (an immune cell messenger molecule that helps regulate the activity of other immune cells) increase 12.5 to 14% when subjects listened to music they preferred
25% lower level of cortisol – a stress hormone that can depress immune system
when produced in excess

Boost in natural opiates. Opiate chemicals induce sense of joy mediated by
endorphins- the brain’s natural pain killer makes for stronger immunity

(Paul 80 – 82)