Article Excerpt
“We’ve found compelling evidence that musical interventions can play a health care role in settings ranging from operating rooms to family clinics,” says Prof. Levitin. “But even more importantly, we were able to document the neurochemical mechanisms by which music has an effect in four domains: management of mood, stress, immunity and as an aid to social bonding.”
Indeed, the information gathered as part of this first large-scale review of the literature showed that music increased both immunoglobulin A, an antibody that plays a critical role in immunity of the mucous system, and natural killer cell counts (the cells that attack invading germs and bacteria). Levitin and his postgraduate research fellow, Dr. Mona Lisa Chanda, also found that listening to and playing music reduces levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in the body.
Analysis
What really caught my eye about this article was the reference to music as not only a tool for mental health, which I was already familiar with, but also physical health. It seems like there’s a lot of research yet to be done on certain parts of the topic, due to this type of research still being in its infancy. However, if we’re already seeing the effects that music has on the body, there’s bound to be more secrets that music is hiding. If something that’s such an external factor like music can effect the body, it makes me wonder what other external activities can have a direct effect on our physical health.
