Music can help soothe physical pain, study suggests
But what happens if you listen to music you don't like?
Music is something we all connect with. It is the common denominator that connects people from varied backgrounds and experiences.
We cannot imagine a world without music and that's saying a lot about its existence.
And one thing is for certain, regardless of the type of music you enjoy, it makes you feel some type of way.
Our music choices are very much reliant on the mood we are in.
Playlists are grouped together based on the moment or the mood and allow you to be in control of your emotions.
"There is no doubt that music can soothe the soul for some, and it turns out that it could also be a temporary soother for physical pain. Listening to favorite songs could reduce people’s perception of pain, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Frontiers in Pain Research." (CNN)
"Researchers found that participants reported feeling less pain when listening to their favorite songs compared to unfamiliar relaxing songs or silence." (Instagram)
What was surprising to us was the fact that bittersweet and sad songs were the songs that were more effective in relieving pain.
We would've thought the opposite, because lyrics that describe your pain somehow feel more painful, but it seems that people who participated in the study found that as a form of relief.
For more from East Coast Radio
"Your brain on music is likely tapping into the body’s built-in system for regulating pain," said Patrick Stroman, a professor of biomedical and molecular sciences at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. "The body’s ability to engage emotions and feelings helps to gauge how important the pain is at that moment." (CNN)
It's official then, we are going to test this theory out more often now that we have heard the results of the research. Music, more specifically our favourite songs, will be the go-to when we are feeling physical pain.
HOW TO LISTEN TO EAST COAST RADIO
- Listen to East Coast Radio on the FM (frequency modulation) spectrum between 94 and 95 FM on your radio.
- Listen live to ECR by clicking here or download the ECR App (iOS/Android).
- Listen to East Coast Radio on the DStv audio bouquet, channel 836.
- Switch to the audio bouquet on your Openview decoder and browse to channel 606
- Listen to us on Amazon Alexa.
Image Courtesy of Pexels