Music and Relaxation

A bubble bath, an episode of American Idol, a hot stone massage, and NFL-packed Sunday afternoons are just a few things we cherish and indulge in to relieve tension and stress. Picking up your Les Paul or popping in the old standby Beatles album Abbey Road are just as essential, if not more effective, in helping to momentarily escape everyday pressures we can't avoid.
A groundbreaking 2005 study published by research journal Medical Science Monitor showed for the first time, that playing a musical instrument can reverse the human body's response to stress at a very basic level. In the study, Dr. Barry Bittman of the Mind-Body Wellness Centre in Meadville, Pennsylvania, found that a group of people who participated in an introductory group keyboard class called the Clavinova Connection by Yamaha, had greater levels of stress reduction than those that simple read newspapers or magazines of their choice.
Some positive health benefits of listening and playing music include the lowering of blood pressure, assistance in digestion elevation in mood and the production of heart-healthy chemicals that protect your ticker.
Besides inducing a state of euphoria, similar to what people with addictive behaviours seek to receive from a game of blackjack or a glass of beer, playing a musical instrument also relaxes the inner lining of blood vessels, improving overall health in a person's cardiovascular system.
Dr. Mike Miller, a research cardiologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center, studies the effects of happiness on people's hearts and recently discovered that music may be one of the best destressors out there.
In order to get the most out of playing music and listening to it, mix it up a bit. Doctors say playing the same song over and over reduces its positive health benefits. Try learning a new melody, or discovering a new artist or genre, in order to get the most out of your destressing routine.
Guess, I need to destress later today. Have a performance to prepare for. Always trying to look after my health.