Carroll Pratt delivered a talk in 1950 entitled “Music as the Language of Emotion.” Gerontologists are increasingly finding how different spheres of aging—genetic, biological, psychological, and social—all interrelate. We are looking more closely at the role emotions play in mediating these different spheres. If Carroll Pratt is correct, and music is indeed the language of emotion, then we need to start examining how music relates with emotions and affects longevity.
We all know that playing or listening to music can be pleasurable. But is it also beneficial? Social and psychological researchers repeatedly find benefits in listening to music. Studies looking at how music reduces or increases stress include a classic 1993 study by JoAchim Escher in which a group of patients undergoing gastroscopy were allowed to select and listen to music during surgery, while a control group heard no music. The study showed a much-reduced rise in stress hormones—ACTH and cortisol--for the music group. It seems that music mitigates negative experience.
Apparently, rather than music by itself eliciting these changes, they are a result of how we interact with music. Whether music speaks tranquility or excitement depends on how the music is interpreted. Some music is intuitively “soothing” and “relaxing.” Martin Möckel and his colleagues at the Free University of Berlin found that meditative music was best at reducing levels of cortisol and noradrenaline, but even this effect depended on the listeners. Some listeners, especially music students, showed increased cortisol levels regardless of the type of music. It seems that these students were actively engaged in analyzing the music.
The paradox of aging also rears its complex head. Increased levels of stress hormones do not necessarily have just negative effects, but also has some benefits. Hormones can enhance muscle and skin tone for the short term and can enhance memories of events that occurred concurrently. Thus, if one wants to increase memory, music that produces transiently higher hormone levels might be beneficial, for the short term.
It could be that healthy older adults already self-select music in order to arouse or soothe their autonomic nervous system. The crucial study, conducted at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Applied Biosystems in 2005, revealed that listening to music can turn off DNA-based switches that determine human stress response. The potential of inducing and subsequently reversing gene expression in this manner may suggest new and exciting possibilities for testing and tailoring specific treatments to an individual, rather than a group. Music and how we interact with it is seems to be a language of how we communicate with our bodies. San Diego offers many opportunities to learn how to appreciate music, or to start playing an instrument. Perhaps for some, it might be reuniting with a childhood instrument. Check out the classes at your local adult enrichment center, or call 1-800-510-2020 for the one nearest you. If music is the language of emotions, then we need to open those channels of communication.
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Mario Garrett, PhD, is a professor of gerontology at San Diego State University. He can be reached at mariusgarrett@yahoo.com.
We all know that playing or listening to music can be pleasurable. But is it also beneficial? Social and psychological researchers repeatedly find benefits in listening to music. Studies looking at how music reduces or increases stress include a classic 1993 study by JoAchim Escher in which a group of patients undergoing gastroscopy were allowed to select and listen to music during surgery, while a control group heard no music. The study showed a much-reduced rise in stress hormones—ACTH and cortisol--for the music group. It seems that music mitigates negative experience.
Apparently, rather than music by itself eliciting these changes, they are a result of how we interact with music. Whether music speaks tranquility or excitement depends on how the music is interpreted. Some music is intuitively “soothing” and “relaxing.” Martin Möckel and his colleagues at the Free University of Berlin found that meditative music was best at reducing levels of cortisol and noradrenaline, but even this effect depended on the listeners. Some listeners, especially music students, showed increased cortisol levels regardless of the type of music. It seems that these students were actively engaged in analyzing the music.
The paradox of aging also rears its complex head. Increased levels of stress hormones do not necessarily have just negative effects, but also has some benefits. Hormones can enhance muscle and skin tone for the short term and can enhance memories of events that occurred concurrently. Thus, if one wants to increase memory, music that produces transiently higher hormone levels might be beneficial, for the short term.
It could be that healthy older adults already self-select music in order to arouse or soothe their autonomic nervous system. The crucial study, conducted at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Applied Biosystems in 2005, revealed that listening to music can turn off DNA-based switches that determine human stress response. The potential of inducing and subsequently reversing gene expression in this manner may suggest new and exciting possibilities for testing and tailoring specific treatments to an individual, rather than a group. Music and how we interact with it is seems to be a language of how we communicate with our bodies. San Diego offers many opportunities to learn how to appreciate music, or to start playing an instrument. Perhaps for some, it might be reuniting with a childhood instrument. Check out the classes at your local adult enrichment center, or call 1-800-510-2020 for the one nearest you. If music is the language of emotions, then we need to open those channels of communication.
_ _ _ _ _
Mario Garrett, PhD, is a professor of gerontology at San Diego State University. He can be reached at mariusgarrett@yahoo.com.
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