One of my latest articles focused on the importance of music for patients dealing with dementia.

That piece was inspired by a conversation I had with a friend who works for a company supporting elderly people across the UK, and the extraordinary Everywhere At The End Of Time, an album by British producer The Caretaker that depicts the progression of Alzheimer's disease through soundscapes.

Connections between music and the human mind are not limited to memory preservation. Studies have shown how music can activate various parts of our brain, boosting and affecting our mood, as well as helping us cope with stress and mental illnesses.

Since the end of World War 2, music therapy has been crucial in treating patients with developmental disabilities, post-traumatic disorders, or simply helping people positively affect their mood through sounds.

Music is also how many of us learn to accept ourselves and our circumstances. Through songs that resonate with us, we understand how we feel and find a gateway to connect with our soul as well as with others.

For the creative soul, making music, or any form of artistry, is a way to deal with the reality surrounding us and the inexplicability of our spirit.

On the occasion of Mental Health Month, let's take a look at some of the endless ways music affects our lives, from setting our mood for the day to helping us grieve and express our feelings to others.

MUSIC AND MIND

As I'm writing, I'm listening to an album I've been listening to for over a decade a never fails to put me in the creative writing mood: Liumin by Deepchord Presents Echospace.

Over the years, I created a series of carefully-curated playlists and album selections that keeps me focused even when I’m running out of juice. Similarly, I have music for bike trips, workout sessions, and even meditation.

The reason why most of us find inspiration in music is because of the way it triggers certain chemicals that help us feel better and more energised.

In particular, studies showed that music could increase dopamine levels in the brain by nine percent.

A surge of dopamine can make you feel happier, intensify pleasure, and encourage you to be proactive. If you're looking for ways to feel better about yourself, finding natural ways to boost your dopamine levels naturally should be your top priority.

Aside from listening to music, physical activity, meditation, and getting enough sleep will help you increase your dopamine levels.

How our brain translates music into emotions is a complex, delicate process that requires the interaction of various areas of our brain, each focused on certain sonic feature and their interpretation.

For example, music memories like childhood or teenage songs are stored in the hippocampus, while the emotional responses caused by the songs we love are activated in three different parts of our brain: the nucleus accumbens, cerebellum and amygdala.

If you play a musical instrument, things get even more complicated: cerebellum, motor cortex, sensory and visual cortex must work in concert (sorry, I couldn’t resist) to achieve the necessary level of coordination and remember the next notes of the melody we’re playing.

In the dementia article, I talked about Clive Wearing, a British composer with a disease (herpes encephalitis), which compromised his memory functions.

Despite being unable to remember anything for longer than 20 seconds, Wearing can still perform Bach’s “Prelude 9 In E Major”, a piece he learnt before contracting the disease.

Music is linked to our mind in ways we still can’t fully comprehend, yet it’s clear that deep listening and active musical activities have a crucial impact on how our brain works ad our long-term well-being.

ACTIVE VERSUS PASSIVE MUSICAL ACTIVITIES

Music therapy is divided into two main branches: passive and active musical activities. Both methods bring clear benefits to mental health, but the way they interact with and trigger certain areas of our minds differ considerably.

Active music activities, including songwriting, learning to play an instrument, or playing music with others, have a significant impact on long-term memory preservation and enhance cognitive abilities.

They help create solid neuronal communication between the two hemispheres of our brain.

In short, making music keeps the mind sharp as we age – and it encourages creativity and self-expression, which in turn release positive chemicals that improve our well-being.

While we know that playing music is a great way to improve a child's development, more and more elderly people are also encouraged to pick an instrument.

Studies show that studying music significantly improves the verbal fluency and processing speed of people aged between 60 and 85.

On the other hand, the so-called passive musical activities that involve deep listening, music meditation, or simply having background music while working will significantly reduce stress and blood pressure, improve the quality of our sleep, and enhance our memory and literacy skills.

MUSIC THERAPY: APPLICATIONS

Actively using music to improve the quality of your life is something you should do regardless of your mental situation: it doesn't cost you anything and helps you broaden your horizons in ways you never thoughts possible.

Plus, it enables you to connect with others and with your subconscious, helping you understand your mind and how to improve as a human being.

Let's take a look at how you can start using music to change your life from today.

CREATE YOUR OWN PLAYLISTS

Streaming platforms offer plenty of opportunities to create a soundtrack for every aspect of your life. By connecting songs to certain daily activities, we can find the focus and energy we need to go through the day.

Find songs that inspire your creativity or energise you, and gather them together so you can access them whenever you need them.

Good-quality background music can mitigate distractions and set you in the right mood, while upbeat tracks can help you go through difficult days with a positive approach.

Soothing playlists can also play a crucial role in improving your sleeping pattern and those around you.

When my daughter was born, I used brown noise, water and nature sounds at night to improve her sleep, and they all worked magnificently.

THE ISO PRINCIPLE

In the 1940s, scientists developed a method to alter a patient’s mood using music. It’s a straightforward technique that anyone could use to get a boost when needed.

First, identify your mood and find a piece that matches your feelings.

Then play the music that’s more in line with your mood, and gradually shift towards tracks that will make you feel better, be it more relaxed or energised. Choose slow-tempo or ambient music to relax and upbeat music to feel more excited and proactive.

Make sure the transition is slow and feels natural. If at any point you think the music doesn't match your feelings, go back to the previous vibe and let it sink in.

DEEP LISTENING

The difference between listening and deep listening is like the difference between reading an Instagram post and a novel.

Deep listening requires your full concentration, and the purpose is to analyse every sound layer that defines a song, its texture, lyrics, melodies and patterns, rhythm, and so on.

As the world tends to encourage a shallower approach to art, deep listening sessions enable you to appreciate the beauty of music, and the mental exercise required might easily become addictive.

The satisfaction and knowledge you’ll get from listening sessions will develop your music taste considerably and highlight the complexity behind every piece.

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Assuming that you won’t like a certain artiste or genre before listening to them is the best way to limit your horizon and let your music taste go stale.

Oftentimes, different generations can't agree on who's had the best music when growing up, de facto ignoring that there are times when we're more perceptive to music. So, we react to different music in different ways depending on the stage of our life.

There's only one way to avoid this: keep listening to new music, explore new sounds, and listen to the albums your friends, parents, or nephews send you.

You'll realise there's beautiful music everywhere.

PLAY MUSIC

Creativity has no age, and if you’re telling yourself you can’t learn to play the guitar because you’re 60, 70 or 80 years old, both history and science have proven you wrong.

Here I talked about the benefits learning music has on your mental health, but music is more than that. It connects people, brings joy to those around us, and gives us a reason to move forward.

So, get your hands dirty and try!

MUSIC CAN SOOTH AND HEAL

Music and I go a long way back, and we weren't always on good terms. When I was a child, I had a music overdose caused by a classically-trained mother teaching singing and piano at home, and it took me a decade to overcome the trauma left by those endless hours of solfeggio and opera practising.

Eventually, things changed, and music became such a crucial part of my life that I couldn't imagine myself without it. I met most of my best friends through music, and my fondest memories are connected to it in one way or another.

Music feels personal yet unites us all. It can help us become the best version of ourselves by teaching us to listen to our own feelings and embrace who we are.

Regardless of your mental state, music can empower you, so let it be a joyful part of your life from today.

In the UK, support is available at the charity Mind on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, Mental Health America is available on 800-273-8255.

Cover Credit: KEF

Writer | Marco Sebastiano Alessi

Marco is an Italian music producer, composer and writer. He’s the founder of Naviar Records, a music community and record label exploring the connection between experimental electronic music and traditional Japanese poetry.

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