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Music can provide an energizing soundtrack for your workouts, invite concentration and focus, and soothe your frazzled nerves after a long day. It is part of your environment—but can it impact overall health? RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT music can influence your mood and, in turn, impact your physical health. "There is a very strong connection between mood and music," says Paul Carroll, Ph.D., clinical psychologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. "I sometimes think music is pure emotion. The soundtrack of a movie, for example, helps to create the emotional state viewers experience as they watch the story unfold." Research into how music may affect the mind and body is ongoing. Some studies indicate that music may reduce stress, lower heart and respiration rates during potentially stressful situations, and ease symptoms of depression. This has implications beyond an individual's mental health. Consistently high stress levels may contribute to physical health problems, too, ranging from conditions like headaches and insomnia to high blood pressure, ulcers and heart disease. EXPLORING THE MUSIC-MOOD LINK The way your brain responds to music may help explain why listening to music may affect your mood. For example, music that you find especially powerful may activate the same reward centers in your brain as a delicious meal. Beyond that, music can provide a distraction from everyday stressors and help you connect with others. "The pleasure of listening to soothing music may relieve the stressful burden of loud noises and stimulation that you might encounter during the day," Dr. Carroll says. "I also think that sharing the experience of listening to or playing music can help a person connect with other people on a deeper emotional level." Dr. Carroll, who plays the violin, viola and guitar, has seen the effects of music firsthand in his practice. He keeps spare instruments in his office because playing music helps him connect with others. "It creates a special bond when patients and I play music together," Dr. Carroll says. "Dementia patients who lose their ability to speak often retain the ability to play an instrument, and the opportunity to play music together motivates them to continue their therapy sessions and gives them a sense of usefulness and self-esteem." MUSIC MAKES A DIFFERENCE The types of music you may find energizing, joyful, soothing or powerful are subjective. Generally speaking, music with slower tempos tends to help induce relaxation, while faster beats can be stimulating. Following this line of thinking, listening to classical music may help you fall asleep each night, while pop, rock or other upbeat genres may help you power through your workout. DID YOU KNOW? Developing new skills during adulthood, like learning to play a musical instrument, may help improve your memory. If you have always wanted to learn how to play a musical instrument, it is not too late to start—no matter what your age. SoothingSounds P H Y S I C I A N RE F E R R A L / / 718 . 49 9. C A RE 27 R E L A X , R E F R E S H , R E F O C U S