As we have made fairly clear over the last few weeks, learning to play an instrument has some serious, and powerful benefits for students young and old alike. From the simplest of benefits like making new friends who share a common interest, to more complex physical and psychological benefits like improved memory, problem solving, and heightened senses to go along with altered brain structures, the benefits are hard to ignore. That being said, learning to play is not the only way to reap a wide range of health benefits from music.

You know, of course, what kind of special power music can have to stir your emotions and your soul. Anyone who has ever listened to an energetic song while getting ready for a night out, or cried over a lost love to the tune of a breakup song knows the power contained in things as simple as notes and chords. And now, finally, science has started to catch up with the things that humans have known for eons. Scientific studies have proven, once and for all, that music affects and alters mood, can help with concentration and learning, and has a number of important health benefits that you can take advantage of simply by listening.

Let’s start by taking a look at the connections between music and mood. Everyone reacts to music in their own, unique way. Some people love heavy metal, or gangster rap, or grunge. Others prefer pop, or classical. Regardless of your favourite genres, a Canadian study published in Nature Neuroscience in 2011, has shown that listening to your music of choice can change your bad mood. The authors of this study, researchers at McGill University in Montreal, conclusively showed that listening to “pleasurable” music, regardless of genre, induces what they call “musical chills,” triggering the release of dopamine, one of the brain’s feel-good chemicals. Now, you probably know this from first hand experience, but now the science backs it up, and confirms that it’s not only your favourite music that does it; it’s everybody’s favourite music.

Another interesting benefit that science is just now catching up to the rest of us on is music’s ability to help us concentrate. A few studies (usually focusing on university and high school students) has shown that listening to the right kind of music can help relax your mind, facilitating better concentration. This is perfect for studying, homework, or really any work related activity the requires a certain level of focus. The belief is that some kinds of music can cut down on distractions, helping you to better focus on the task at hand. Of course, not all music is suitable for this, and the most cited study is the “Mozart effect,” which is a set of research results that suggest that listening to Mozart helps to induce a short-term improvement in your ability to think out long-term solutions to abstract problems. Others have suggested that music at 60 beats per minute helps to put the brain in the right frame of mind; something like Telemann or Vivaldi. Of course, classical music isn’t for everyone, so perhaps try some more modern electronic styles, such as Nu jazz, Ambient House, Ambient Trance, or New Age.

There are some serious health benefits to go along with your better mood and improved concentration as well. Prof. Daniel J. Levitin, of McGill University’s Psychology Department, has found strong evidence that music can play an important health care role everywhere, from operating rooms to family clinics. Specifically, Prof. Levitin has found that music can improve the body’s immune system functions, reduce overall stress, and perhaps most interestingly, music was found to be more effective than prescription medications in reducing a patient’s anxiety before surgery. Performing the first- large scale review of the current literature ever done, Levitin and his postgraduate research fellow, Dr. Mona Lisa Chanda, showed that music increases both immunoglobulin A, an antibody that plays an important role in our immune system, and natural killer cell counts, which are the cells in your body that attack invaders like foreign bacteria. They also found that listening to and playing music profoundly lowered levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body. This idea that music can help you “de-stress” is probably not a new one to you. In 2011, Mind, a mental health charity, released figures showing that nearly one third of workers listen to their own music on the job. Almost a quarter of people surveyed said they found that music in the workplace helps to de-stress the environment. This is just another case of finally having the science to back up what we all already assumed. But science has more in store for you regarding this “de-stressing” effect.

Lower cortisol levels obviously help with lower stress levels, but lower stress levels lead to lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, less anxiety, pain relief, and a better overall quality of life. All thing that are stupendously important for people living with long-term illnesses, like heart disease, cancer, or respiratory conditions. Many people suffering from these ailment, and countless others, suffer a loss of control from their external environment. Their condition means that they have to stay in the hospital for long periods of time, or are less able, or unable, to get up and move around, which would help with things like heart rate and blood pressure. This is where music comes in. While listening to music may not be so amazing for you that it can replace physical activity and exercise, for those who are unable to move around much, it can be an enjoyable and effective way to regain a sense of control, while also creating a calm environment and blocking out disturbances or negativity.

Of all the creatures on this Earth, we are the only ones to make actual music (as far as we know, anyway), and it has shaped us. There is a very specific part of the brain that processes music, separate and distinct from the area that processes speech. Regardless of your philosophical or theological beliefs it is clear that we were made for music, and music has an extreme effect on our lives. Music can colour the way we perceive the world around us, improve our mood when we’ve had a trying or difficult day, lower stress, and have powerful effects on our mental and physical health and well-being. Some of these benefits probably seem like they belong in the realm of common sense, but as the science and research catches up with what we’ve always know, just imagine what we can learn about music that we’ve never imagined.