Music: Key to Mental Health

A new study finds that the risk of mental decline through age is less in people who play musical instruments.

Researchers at St Andrews University found that musicians have sharper minds and they are able to pick up and rectify mistakes quicker than their non-musician counterparts, News.com.au reported.

Depression - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders affecting approximately 340 million people in the world. No one is immune from depression - it occurs in people of all social classes, all countries and all cultural settings.

For the research, led by psychologist Ines Jentzsch, scientists compared the behavioural and brain responses of amateur musicians with non-musicians when performing simple mental tasks.

The results showed that playing a musical instrument, even at moderate levels, improves a person's ability to detect errors and adjust responses more successfully.

Jentzsch said that the study shows that even moderate levels of musical activity can benefit brain functioning.

Raga Therapy for Healing Mind and Body - Working - Healing Ragas - Types
What is the idea behind music as a healing therapy? The position of Indian classical music in this genre of healing, though proven through the ages, has not been written about as much as it ought to.

She asserted that the findings could have important implications as the processes involved are amongst the first to be affected by ageing, as well as a number of mental illnesses such as depression.

She added that the research suggests that musical activity could be used as an effective intervention to slow, stop or even reverse age or illness-related decline in mental functioning.

Language Skills Get a Boost With Music
In their quest to find the connection between music and language, researchers found that moving to good music rhythmically is connected to enhanced language skills.

The study was published in the journal Neuropsychologia.

Source-ANI

Current Generation of Young Adults Fond of Music from Their Parents' Generation
A new study reveals that the current generation of young adults has an emotional bond with the music that was popular during their parents’ generation.