Research is showing us why listening to music has such an amazing variety of positive effects on people. Music can calm your nerves, ease stress, pump up your energy during a workout, or bring back old memories and emotions. The reason that music is so moving is that it triggers activity in parts of our brains that connect us to our emotions. New studies published in the prestigious journal “Sci­ence” have shown that listening to music connects people with the part of the brain that releases the feel­-good chemical dopa­mine. Music also stimulates the amygdala, which is where emotions and positive expectations are processed.

Dr Daniel Levitin’s meta-analysis of over 400 scientific studies supports the idea that our brains are wired to use music as a beneficial emotional release. In one of the studies, patients who were about to undergo surgery were either given an anti-­anxiety drug, or allowed to listen to sooth­ing music. The ones who listened to the music had much less anxi­ety and lower cortisol levels. It has also been shown that music has a positive impact on the production of anti-bodies and bacteria-­fighting immune cells. In addition to easing stress, promoting health and lifting our moods, it seems that music also has an intrinsic ability to connect us with each other. In one recent study, groups of people listened to pieces of classical music they had never heard before, and yet all of their brain waves reacted in much the same way. It is clear that “music has magic”, and the deeper we look the stronger it appears.