If you were to go around ACIT right now, more than a good percentage amongst the student body would have some sort of earbuds on. Whether it’s headphones, AirPods, wires etc., many would have some sort of music playing to ease through the day. Many teachers tend to go against them, but how does music positively affect you?

According to the National Library of Medicine, music is a form of pleasure to the brain that is also brought with physiological changes in the nervous system. This releases a dopamine response; causing levels of euphoria to rise. Think of your favorite song, what emotions do you feel when listening to it? Do you feel nostalgic? Thrill? Hope? These emotions, whether good or bad, can be very impactful on how you react to the music you listen to. 

Though I’m telling you this, how can it really impact you? As people adapt with new environments, new experiences, new anything, one thing that stays with you that may seem insignificant would be music. According to Harvard Medical School, researchers at the music and neuro-imaging at the Harvard medical center state how patients who suffer from brain injuries can regain speech from their undamaged right side of their brain by lyrics. Music is a powerful tool that can help you, whether you think of it or not. A universal thing that helps.

Music is a powerful tool that is used professionally as well. Have you heard of musical therapy? Musical therapy is a tool that helps people of all ages, trying to accomplish goals, like reducing stress or improving quality of life. Music therapy experiences may include singing, playing instruments or writing music. Some sessions may involve listening to music and talking about its meaning.

Now with the constant wave of social media, many feel a sense of anxiety and depression with the constant changes in new trends and ideals of others. Constantly comparing themselves to others by how much they flaunt a “newer, better” lifestyle. Many artists see this as they produce more music, targeting their artists with a sense of belonging as they relate back to their own lives. Mental health is a subject many are known to touch on, and music can help those who can’t find any other coping mechanisms. Using songs that can relate to your emotions can help with coping, or even listening to music that is the complete opposite of what you feel. Either way, how you react to music and how you react to your own experiences can alter a lot about you. 

Music can help you express, change, relate or cope with events in your life, but always knowing when you can use it.