There have been quite a few studies that have been released within the past couple months that are showing music can be very beneficial after you get out of the operating room. We already knowt hat music provides us with hours of entertainment, but most people did not know just how effective music can be when it comes to helping us overcome situations like surgery. If you have ever went through a surgery, you know just how anxious you can get, not to mention the pain and feelings of sorrow or loneliness after the operation has been completed. Researchers recently have shown just how effective music is to people recovering from surgery, and here are four of the biggest benefits that you can get if you decide to listen to music after your surgery.
Music Eases Pain
One horrible thing about surgery is the immense pain you will feel afterward, and sometimes even pain medication can’t ease the intensity of what you are feeling. If you are listening to music during your post-operative care, you will realize that your not in as much pain as you thought, because music helps decrease the signals in the brain that control pain levels. Music also takes your mind off of the pain, because you get involved into what you are listening to, which helps you forget the pain all together. If you are someone that does not like taking pain medication, then you might try music therapy in lieu of pills or intravenous medication or at least use it for the time in between the doses.
Reduces Your Anxiety
After surgery, you often times will become anxious, which is sometimes due to the medications coursing through your body, while other times it could be you are nervous about the potential infections that can come after an operation. The anxiety and stress you feel after surgery is actually related to an increased release of cortisol in your body. When you are listening to music, your cortisol levels naturally decrease, which in turn will reduce your stress and anxiety. Being anxious and stressed can slow healing time after surgery, can lead to you feeling more pain, and can also lead to you falling into a depressive state of mind. The good thing is, you don’t have to listen to classical music to feel that calming effect, because the reduction in anxiety can be seen through various genres of music. The researchers have said that you can preload music into your phone or iPod so that when you get out of surgery, you have a playlist of music that you like to listen to, which will help you feel less anxious and nervous about the procedure.
Boosts Immune System
It has already been stated that cortisol is lowered if you are listening to music, but cortisol impacts more than just your stress and anxiety levels. Listening to music as part of your post-operative care can also help boost your immune system, due to the lowering of the cortisol levels within the body. When you are in the hospital, your immune system becomes compromised, especially if you are undergoing a really invasive surgical procedure. The ability for music to boost your immune system is important because that can promote healing, which means you will be able to leave the hospital sooner, and you are less likely to develop post-surgery infection. There are a lot of people out there who are immune compromised, such as people with diabetes and other diseases, so listening to music is a great way to help someone in this situation possibly boost their immune system, and this can ward off life-threatening infections.
Your Outlook Will Be More Positive
When you are in the hospital recovering from surgery, you might feel like you are depressed, lash out at nurses for no reason, and generally feel like you did not have a good hospital experience. You might have had some of the best nurses in the world, but if your attitude is negative, then you won’t notice the good in others. If you are listening to music however, you will generally maintain a more positive outlook on the whole situation, which means you are more likely to say you had a positive experience in the hospital. You will notice your spirit is more positive too, which means you might not be lashing out at the hospital staff, and you will not feel bouts of depression or like you are alone. Being in the hospital can be a scary experience, so having music to listen to can help you feel less helpless, especially if you have a long hospital stay. Listening to music can make you feel more content with life and the current situation, and this can help you overcome some of the mental distress that post-surgery and recovery can have on your mental well-being. Having a more positive outlook and overall hospital experience will help you heal faster, be more likely to overcome obstacles in your recovery, and will also make you feel like you have more energy moving forward.
