how music can ease your anxiety & your gut

Music has been shown to be incredibly useful in the mental health field. We all have our favorite feel good tunes and the songs we like to listen to when we’re feeling sad and need a good cry. It’s so powerful and can literally switch our mood from overthinking and stressed to easy going and dance-y! This is why it’s so great for anxiety which in turn will make it beneficial for your gut health, yeah your gut bacteria like music too! 

Read this blog to find out more about how your gut health affects your mental health.

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There’s a study that shows that music can reduce anxiety by up to 65%. Do you remember that song that came out called ‘Weightless’ by Marconi Union. It was designed in hopes to reduce heart rate and induce a feeling of calmness and by the studies it appears it worked! So much so that people felt drowsy and were warned not to listen to it while driving because it could be dangerous... how powerful!
 
It’s easy to see how music can benefit our mental health and calm us down but it might be harder to see how it helps with our gut health. First off, your mental health and gut health are directly linked so when one is out of whack so is the other i.e. heightened anxiety or depression will impact your gut bacteria and an imbalance with gut bacteria will increase anxiety/depression. So, it’s clear to see that if you reduce your anxiety you are automatically improving your gut health or at least getting one step closer. Since certain music makes you feel calmer it’s also beneficial to listen to music while eating as it will improve digestion.  When you feel calm, relaxed and safe your digestion improves. 

Now all music is not equal in this conversation. Certain music will trigger your fight or flight response causing more stress on your body and decreasing digestion since your body is focusing its energy on something else. On the other hand, softer kinds of music can trigger a calming effect. So, make sure if you’re using this method of music therapy that you find a nice calming, soft type of music - some examples being jazz or classical music. For me, in 2020, I know I’m not exactly choosing jazz or classical however, I love my coffee house playlists that usually have a slow, mellow feel-good-vibe.

These slow sounds can actually cause you to eat slower as well which will make for a more mindful eating experience. Eating slower has many benefits such as; increased digestion which increases the absorption of nutrients in your body and the slower you eat the easier it is for your body to process and identify when you’re full which can decrease weight gain [if that's a concern of yours]. 

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​Do you use music when you are feeling a certain way? Leave it in the comments how you use music as therapy. 



Sources:
http://shanson-cafe.com/2015/10/09/4-ways-music-can-affect-your-digestion/#:~:text=Slow%2C%20gentle%20music%20is%20known,mood%20that%20encourages%20efficient%20digestion.

https://djmag.com/content/music-can-reduce-anxiety-65-study-shows