The problem

The 21^st century is an era where we humans have put ourselves into quite a sticky situation. While we have discovered comforts in life and ways to earn it, health is where most of us have compromised. When we talk about health the first mental image that comes to us is a picture of ourselves sweating it out in the gym and eating healthy. While that is essential, it is not the only component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Mental health is something which is often forgotten in this day and age. We need to be happy in addition to being physically fit. We need to have strong bonds and healthy relationships with other people. The stressful pursuit of deadlines has to end sometime but it doesn’t simply end when the job is done because the next one is around the corner. It has to be counter-balanced. In our pursuit for high power, career driven lives, we are failing at friendships and relationships and most importantly, we are losing our connection with ourselves. Depression cases are on the rise. Social life is disturbingly restricted to Facebook and Instagram.

This trend needs to be changed. Mental health is equally important, if not more, compared to physical health and Health is certainly more important than money.

Think about it – What’s the point of earning so much if you are going to spend it at the Hospital?

While eating right and exercising are the essentials of physical fitness, there are many ways of improving one’s mental health and one of the easiest and impactful ways is Music, which is what this post is all about.

Five ways Music could help in improving mental health.

1. Music helps in building cognitive skills

Cognitive skills are the skills used by our brains to listen, read, think, pay attention, and remember. Cognitive skills are attributed to the right side of the brain which is associated with creativity and attentiveness whereas the left side of the brain is associated with mathematics and logic. When one practices music, they are engaging their right side of the brain. Practicing music involves reading, listening, thinking, and reciprocating. 

So how does this help in mental health? Engaging the right side of the brain allows the brain to think differently from what it would generally do in the everyday routine work. It gives the left side a much- needed break. Rest is important for recovery.

Moreover, every practice session is different from the previous one. Even if one is practicing the same content in order to perfect it, the experience is different. This variety adds spice to life. It makes one look forward to something new every day. This leads to a happier mind that is not over dwelling on the pressures at office. Plus, improvement in cognitive skills also helps an individual in adopting different approaches to normal problems at work and life. Even if it doesn’t work, you always have music to come back home to.

Check out some great practice tips here.

NOTE: Playing string instruments such as the guitar also stimulates the brain related pressure points on the finger-tips leading to overall better health of the brain.

2. Music releases dopamine – a sense of achievement

Imagine this, you come back from work every day and pick up your instrument to play some tunes. You like a couple of songs that you heard the other day and would like to try playing it. You listen to those songs again to understand what is being played, you perhaps watch videos to learn from others. You keep trying for a week or maybe even a month or maybe even more than that. With every passing day, you keep getting better at it and one fine day you play it perfectly. The sense of achievement that you get is at par with what you would get after finishing a marathon or completing that challenging trek. All these are attributed to the release of dopamine in the brain, a chemical that results in a “high”- a sense of achievement and motivation. The effect is similar to that produced by addictive drugs minus the harmful health effects.

Dopamine is a chemical that controls the release of various hormones in the body. Outside the brain, it plays a critical role in balancing the kidney, pancreas, gastrointestinal system and immune system. It protects from diseases such as Parkinson’s and ADHD. Dopamine is good for the brain and by extension, for the body. After all, a healthy mind and body is something everyone wants and Music is an easy way to achieve it.

So, choose a musical instrument today and spend some time with it. Ukuleles are great for a start. They are small, portable (and unbelievably cute) and are quite economical and easy to learn too. Not to mention, they sound very beautiful.

3. A great tool for socializing

The word “socializing” immediately paints a visual picture of…. A PARTY! Music is a key ingredient in every party. But playing ear-splitting, loud music is not the only way music is useful for socializing. If you are fairly skilled with an instrument, throw a party for your friends and perform for them. This way, you will also get great suggestions and feedback on improving your skills. This is a great morale booster and will do wonders to your confidence.

You can also call your friends for a jamming session. Let everyone come with an instrument of their choice or have a set of cheap instruments at your place and jam along. This will be a great way to bring everyone together to coordinate, interact with each other. This not just helps you but helps your friends too.

4. Exercise your imagination

Imagination is a very powerful attribute of the mind that also needs training. Strongly imagining things makes them happen in real life. There is plenty of reading material out there that talks about this (Law of attraction, Cause and effect, The power of positive thinking, Karma etc.). Imagination is a handy tool to improve in music and pretty much any skill. It helps to just sit and imagine how it should be done. For example, if you are looking to improve your guitaring skills, sit back and imagine how your fingers should move in order to get that chord progression right. Keep repeating it and you will find yourself improving at it rapidly. This is a great way to exercise your imagination and train your brain. After all, it is your brain that sends signals to your fingers to play that progression correctly. Imagining it pre-trains the brain and makes it easier to send the right signals to your finger muscles. The human mind’s greatest ability is its power of imagination. One can imagine horrible things and make life miserable for themselves. Instead, try using it constructively to improve in music.

5. Music & memory

Have you noticed it? Do we find the music that we grew up listening to more enjoyable than the latest tracks? That’s because they bring back fond memories from the past. Think about it, which songs were you listening to when you were at school? What was your playlist like at college? Does your grandma enjoy today’s music more compared to the old songs of her time?

Chances are you would cherish listening to those songs of your time just like your grandma enjoys the music from her time. Listening to them today will bring back memories from the past. In a way you travel back in time and re-live those happy memories.

For example, a few songs by Incubus really reminds me of Chicago. Totally unrelated, yes, but it happens with me every time. That’s because I really started listening to a lot of their music when I was in Chicago for a few years. I would listen to them while walking to the university on those snowy roads during the crazy winters. Sometimes when I miss that city, I close my eyes, plug in my headphones and listen to Incubus. It instantly transports me back to those days.

A word of caution, it can work the other way around also. For instance, if someone had been in a terrible accident while listening to Incubus, listening to them again could remind them of the horrifying incidence and make them relive the trauma. Nevertheless, music has the ability to trigger memories, so listen to music that reminds you of happy times and keeps your brain and by extension your body healthy.

Memory can be improved by practicing music. If you have seen live concerts up close, you would notice that musicians can remember a lot of music and play them flawlessly and effortlessly on stage. They keep going for 90-120 minutes at least. They might have a few sheets of music for reference but they are not visually glued to them. Most musicians don’t even need a sheet of music on stage. With adequate practice they can remember all the songs. Pick up your instrument and start practicing those tunes today. As you keep progressing, you will be surprised to see the amount of data that the brain can store.

Practicing music and listening to it will keep your brain and its gears well lubricated and put them into creative use. A machine that is sparsely used and not maintained starts rusting and fails when you most need it. The brain is perhaps the most complicated and delicate piece of machinery by nature. Let’s keep it healthy.

I hope these points have been helpful and are convincing enough to make you play, sing, and listen to more good music.