How listening daily to therapeutic music enhances
your present and future health.
T
ake a good look around you. How many people have you noticed walking around with a cable dangling down from each ear? Mobile
phones, mp3 players, and the ubiquitous iPod are enabling and encouraging us to listen to music wherever we go, whenever we
want to.
We truly are a generation wired for sound
But what exactly are we listening to and, more importantly, do we have any idea of the effect that music has on our brain? Should we even be interested
or should we simply view music as nothing more than sound that reflects our mood and emotional state?
Before you decide which viewpoint most appeals to you, let’s take a look at some of the things we already know that music can do for us.
Although we don’t understand exactly how music affects the brain, we do know for instance that music has a great impact on learning and mood.
Known as the “Mozart Effect”, listening to music has profound effects on our cognition as well as our moods.
Some areas of the brain respond solely to music. We know for instance that some people with severe mental handicaps, who are not able to perform
simple tasks such as reading or even tying shoelaces, often stun us with their musical ability.
This suggests that music has its own neuro-structure within the brain. Just why the human brain is wired for music is still unclear but there is a
theory that music preceded speech and was an early form of emotional communication. In many cultures around the world there are ancient healing
songs that are designed to bring about comfort and healing to the sick.
In the Jan de Vries clinic, we used resonance biofeedback technology to measure the physiological effect of listening to a very special form of music.
This music, which is called BrainHeart Music, has been composed and produced specifically to place the mind and body into states of deep peace and
clarity. It has been developed in Scotland by music composer Punit Yaatri.
In 2006, this music enabled a once completely silent 3-year-old autistic boy to speak for the very first time in his life. After this heartwarming
event, the parents continued to play BrainHeart Music to their child regularly everyday. Then one day, a little over 3 months later, the little boy turned
to this mother and said “I love you”.
For more details contact the Edinburgh Clinic on 0131 558 7000
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