You know how music makes you feel. It can energize you when you’re tired, relax you when you’re stressed, make you laugh or make you cry.
Many of us use music—like coffee and alcohol—every day for pleasure and to boost our mood. But we may not understand how deeply music affects our brain chemistry.
Canadian psychologists from McGill University reviewed over 400 studies. They looked at how music engages the body’s neurochemical systems for reward, motivation, pleasure, stress, arousal, immunity, and social affiliation. They found that music’s neurochemical activity can boost the body’s immune system, reduce anxiety, help regulate mood, and increase social bonding.
Music's neurochemical activity can boost the body's immune system, reduce anxiety, help regulate mood, and increase social bonding.
