Dr Radha: How music can boost our wellbeing, from releasing dopamine to helping us bond

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There are some activities that are widely recognised as being good for our wellbeing and mental health. But what about those activities that we that we enjoy and that we know we like – but that perhaps don’t get the same amount of air time about the science behind them, and exactly why they make us feel good?

When we are presented with the scientific evidence about why something helps us feel mentally and emotionally better, then we trust it more – and we can see more clearly that it is a tool that we can use for our wellbeing. We then don’t just experience it in a “by chance” way, but we can recognise when we might need it and make a choice to use it.

There are many activities that can fall into this category, but today it is music that I am shouting about, especially appropriate given the return of summer festivals and live music.

Our love of music is innate – rhythm, sound, pitch, tone – they are all things that we seem to naturally gravitate towards and resonate with. During the pandemic, when there was a lack of live music and music festivals, when we weren’t able to sing together, or go to concerts together, or be together socially with music playing in the background, we missed it. We felt that loss and we grieved for it.

Many of us, myself included, also realised just how much we love music and turned to it for support during those moments of anxiety, sadness or loneliness, or as a way to motivate us, or to help us express our feelings of frustration. And we found ways to come together remotely using music to try and feel the connection that music brings, that cuts through language barriers – a language all of us can understand.

Music is amazing and science has come a long way to help confirm what we already suspected. Why is music special and what does science tell us about how it can support our wellbeing?

So many parts of our brain are involved when we listen to or play music – our frontal lobe that is involved in thinking, planning and decision-making; our speech areas that help us express ourselves and communicate; our cerebellum that coordinates movement; our amygdala involved in emotional processing and our emotional responses and our hypothalamus.

Music encourages activity across the two hemispheres of our brains – the right and left – the left where words are interpreted and the right, where sound is processed. Special types of MRI brain scans have shown how these different parts of our brains “light up” with music.

Science has shown that music can improve our mood by releasing dopamine and stimulate the production of endorphins as well as reducing cortisol. These can help boost our mood, reduce anxiety, impact our perception of pain and lessen stress.

Aside from this, music can encourage our ability to be more present in the moment, to have space and time from our thoughts and feelings and to distance ourselves from them if they are challenging. But it can also help us to process our feelings too – by the lyrics, which we can resonate with, and by the sound itself and the instruments themselves by the very nature of the sound they produce.

Music can also help us to bond socially with others, to reduce isolation and loneliness, and to build self-esteem and confidence. It can help us feel that we have autonomy, give us a sense of control, and help us feel heard. It can also help us express feelings that may be difficult to speak or to write. It can connect us to others in a way what is difficult to find anywhere else. Music is also a way of storytelling and processing things that have happened to us in our lives.

Different genres of music have been shown to have different benefits, for example, classical music can help with learning and studying and focus whilst studying, and it has been shown to have beneficial impact on our heart rate and blood pressure, and feelings of calm. Other genres of music can motivate us and make us feel more energetic.

The amazing thing about music is that it has a toolbox within itself – of different genres and types within it, and even within that different artists and instruments – that we can pick up and choose to listen to according to what we need in that particular moment, and according to our mood.

So, I hope I have convinced you that music is another tool that you can use every single day to help you feel a little bit better, to help you understand yourself more, and ultimately that it is a reliable friend who will also be there for you when you need it. Let’s value music more and let it work its magic.