The Healing Power of Music: Why Music Reaches Deeper Than Words
This week’s Better You, Backed by Science is about the healing power of music.
From easing stress to unlocking memories, science shows music is far more powerful than we realise.
It can fire us up. It can calm us down. It can make us feel like superheroes, move us to tears, or send us singing out loud. There’s no end to the states music can stir in us.
But did you know that music can also reach places in the brain that even language cannot?
Music Can Heal
And that can help us heal. Studies show that music helps people with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Tourette’s, stuttering, and multiple sclerosis.
Why?
Because music doesn’t just touch one part of the brain – it lights up billions of neurons across many connected regions. This allows a few notes to access memory circuits that contain an entire package: tune, words, and the experiences tied to them.
That’s why someone with advanced dementia may not remember a name, yet can sing every word of a favourite song from decades ago.
In movement disorders like Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis, and even stroke, the brain’s internal timing can be impaired, making walking difficult.
A therapy called Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) — essentially walking to a steady beat — provides “scaffolding” for the brain’s timing regions, helping patients move more easily.
And it’s especially effective when the beat comes from music they’ve chosen themselves.
Why is Some Music Relaxing?
Part of the answer lies in rhythm. Slow beats naturally slow our thoughts and even our movements.
Love songs and certain reflective pieces can also activate the brain’s Default Mode Network — a system linked with daydreaming and self-reflection.
This is why music can be both restful and transporting, letting us imagine ourselves inside the story of a song.
Music and Sleep
Humans have long known music aids sleep — even 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets contain lullabies.
Today, science confirms this: a Cochrane review of studies involving over 1,000 people with insomnia found that listening to music improved sleep quality.
Connections
The underlying reason for the power of music is how it connects – not just individuals but brain regions. Functional brain scans show that music engages the auditory cortex, motor regions, memory networks, and emotional centres all at once.
This wide neural footprint helps explain the wide reaching effects of music: why it can restore speech, improve movement, unlock memories, stir emotions, ease anxiety, and more.
Try This
Choose a song from your past that stirs up strong, positive feelings — maybe from your teenage years or a special occasion. Put on some headphones, close your eyes, and let the music wash over you.
Notice the emotions, the memories, and even the subtle shifts in your body as the music does its work.
Music isn’t just entertainment. It’s medicine for the mind, body, and soul.
Want to dive deeper?
🎥 Watch my YouTube video where I explore more of the science of how music impacts us.
References (if you’re curious)
- This email was inspired by the book, Music as Medicine (2024), by neuroscientist, Daniel Levitin. Find on: Amazon UK Amazon.com
- Music preservation in Alzheimer’s patients
- The neural architecture of music-evoked autobiographical memories
- The power of RAS
- Music for Insomnia
More
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