7 Ways Meditation Can Actually Change The Brain

Find out how music affects your brain & what are the benefits of listening to music. A study from Austria’s General Hospital of Salzburg found that patients recovering from back surgery had increased rates of healing and reported less pain when music was incorporated into the standard rehabilitation process. The benefits of musical study and training were still apparent even in participants who no longer played an instrument. Listening to music has been shown to improve memory functioning, increase rate of healing, improve your workouts and more.

Neuroscientists can now see that music affects each person’s brain differently. This movie chronicles the astonishing experiences of nursing home patients whose brains have been reawakened by listening to the music of their youth. When hearing familiar music, patients often visibly “light up” and sing along.



The individual participants in the study were in charge of providing the definitions of what they felt were pleasant or unpleasant compositions. This outcome can make your workouts become more effective, if you are feeling tired or lethargic after a challenging session. It can also function as a natural pick-me-up after a long day at work. Another interesting way in which music affects our brains is the fact that the musical choices we make work to shape our personalities. Music even creates a separate sensation of time that is based on the personal perceptions of its cadence and tempo.

You will wake up feeling much more refreshed in the morning as your body remains calm throughout the night. Music might even be a helpful distraction to those who are anxious or are experiencing pain. Distractions can be great for taking the mind off of more difficult situations and making you feel a lot better during them. Music can be a great tool for providing distractions as it absorbs attention and diverts focus. It can set the mood in certain situations, bring back nostalgic memories, and in some cases, even help relieve stress.

You can practice meditation whether you're sitting, lying down, walking, or in other positions or activities. Just try to be comfortable so that you can get the most out of your meditation. This type of meditation is based on being mindful, or having an increased stress relief music awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment. Sometimes called guided imagery or visualization, with this method of meditation you form mental images of places or situations you find relaxing.

Rob writes about the intersection of sleep and mental health and previously worked at the National Cancer Institute. Interest in music’s effects on the body continues to grow, and major research programs are dedicated to uncovering new ways that music can benefit health. For example, in 2017 the National Institutes of Health partnered with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to announce the Sound Health Initiative.

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