Start Small, Dream Big: The Role of the Arts in Improving Health and Well Being

There is something in a mother’s soul that gives her the desire to sing to their children. There is even some evidence to suggest that singing itself developed out of the sing-song speak and other sounds that mothers naturally use with their babies to help them learn to talk.

Aside from that, singing brings the mother closer to her child. The act enhances their maternal nurturing behaviours, decreases stress hormones in both the mother and her child, and increases the perception of emotional closeness between the two.

Melodic arches are easier for a baby to cognitively process than words, hence why nature encourages mothers to do that sing-song speak with their babies. It helps the child to develop auditory discrimination and attention — skills that are extremely important for learning to speak.

Later on, singing can help children who stutter learn to speak clearly. Even those affected by Rett syndrome (a genetic disorder that causes language and coordination problems) benefit from music. Through regular music therapy, they can learn to more fully communicate.

The impact of music is so profound that there are marked structural differences in the grey matter and white matter in the brains of kids exposed to music as opposed to those who aren’t. How these differences may affect intelligence is still debated.

Regardless, listening to music and especially learning to play an instrument has a profound impact on a child’s educational experience. Intellectually, they tend to learn and retain new information more readily. Socially, they develop more prosocial behaviours and are less likely to display severe behaviour problems.

Surprisingly, music and the arts can have a profound impact on other areas of healthy living. Regardless of their socioeconomic status, people who engage in the arts are more likely to be healthier. They make better nutrition choices and stay more active.

Why?

Community activities tend to positively impact one’s self-perception and mental health, including one’s desire to eat healthily and exercise.

Beyond the physical effects of music, the way music is used can help promote healthier behaviours through education. For example, songs about communicable diseases are an excellent vehicle for widespread education. They have effectively been used to distribute transmission information about malaria, cholera, and even the symptoms of Ebola. Artists have also used their music to teach people about the risks of HIV and how to protect themselves through healthy sexual habits.

What else has been communicated through song?

While the physical health benefits of listening to music and participating in other arts might be surprising, the mental health benefits should be less so. After all, using the brain is what keeps it strong and being creative certainly flexes the mental muscles in a big way.

So what does it do?

On a general level, making music can help direct people’s perceptions of themselves. Recitals and learning an instrument in general can help build self-esteem, self-confidence, self-acceptance, and self-worth — all important qualities for maintaining positive mental health.

Let’s look at things on a more individual level.

These days, folks are far too stressed out. Listening to and making music, as well as participating in other art forms have been found to reduce stress levels. Not only does music lower the body’s stress hormone response, but also it helps regulate and express emotion, reducing stress.

The effect is so profound that playing calming music during a dental appointment has been shown to relax patients who suffer from dental anxiety and help them get through their visit.

Regularly listening to or making music helps people manage stress on a day-to-day basis. Since stress negatively impacts almost every other area of physical and mental health, reducing stress greatly improves a person’s quality of life.

It’s an unfortunate fact of life that most people experience cognitive decline as they age. However, extensive interaction with music and other cultural pursuits can help stave off that decline.

Those who have participated in musical training for 10 or more years have stronger visual-spatial abilities, memory, and executive function than others as they grow older. These same individuals tend to have lower risks of cognitive decline or dementia.

Learning to play a musical instrument as an older adult helps improve memory, processing time, and general cognition. Surprisingly, it can even help with age-related hearing loss (as it relates to cognition).

Even simply attending the theatre, a concert, or an opera every few months helps to slow cognitive decline and reduce the risk of dementia.

Regular participation in dance has a hugely positive impact physically on the body, reducing the risk of frailty in old age.

Dance improves:

Being sick with cancer is never a walk in the park. However, music is another tool in a patient’s arsenal in the fight against the disease.

Listening to music can help reduce the side effects such as a lack of appetite or nausea, and shortness of breath or drowsiness. Anxiety and depression can also be a point of struggle for cancer patients, and we’ve already seen how music can help reduce these mental health symptoms.

The effect is so profound that it has been found that listening to music decreases a cancer patient’s hospital stay after surgery (or any type of surgery, not just caner patients).

For respiratory diseases, singing can actually be an excellent form of treatment. Regular singing improves physiological measures such as oxygen saturation and respiratory muscle strength. This, plus the positive effects on mental health that we’ve already outlined, helps to reduce measurable factors such as the number of doctor and hospital visits the patient must make.

Amazingly, singing has a greater impact on reducing breathlessness and anxiety than progressive muscle relaxation often used to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Beyond the physical benefits, the solidarity found by participating in a singing group can also improve the patient’s quality of life. Additionally, they may find a greater sense of purpose and growth through learning a new skill.

When the end-of-life is near, music plays a final role in mental and physical well-being. It helps people express their emotions, and can reduce levels of sadness, depression, and anxiety. Patients (and their families and caregivers) can feel comfort and even spiritual satisfaction through music therapy.

On a physical level, listening to music helps to regulate the heart rate, promote relaxation, lower distress, and even alleviate pain and help with laboured breathing.

Death may never be easy, but it can be a bit more peaceful to the strains of a sweet melody.