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Suruchi Saini, MA, LPC, CCTP, TMHP, CYT

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Stress Management

July 31, 2016 By Suruchi Saini

How Music Affects the Brain – Part 3

TulipsThe Physical Benefits

There is a wealth of evidence that shows the positive influences music has on our mental and emotional states. In this third and final post on the wonderful benefits of music, we’ll look at how it affects us on a physical level.

Music Enhances Exercise

In 1911, a researcher named Leonard Ayres discovered that when bicyclists listened to music, they pedaled faster than they did when they heard only silence. It has since been determined that music has the ability to drown out that inner voice that tells us we’re tired, which can let us work out longer and at higher intensities.

Furthermore, listening to music while exercising can help the body use energy in a more efficient manner. A study conducted in 2012 revealed that bicyclists who listened to music required seven percent less oxygen to do the same amount of work as when they rode in silence. Listening to upbeat music specifically can help your body find more energy.

Finally, music typically reduces muscle tension and improves body movement and coordination, which can enable us to enjoy a broader range of exercise and physical activities.

Less Pain for Music Fans

According to a recent study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, “listening to music can reduce chronic pain from a range of painful conditions, including osteoarthritis, disc problems and rheumatoid arthritis, by up to twenty-one percent.”

Moreover, music can help minimize the sensation and distress of chronic pain and postoperative pain. It can also lower the intensity, frequency and duration of migraines and chronic headaches.

“Heart and Soul” is good for the Heart and Soul

Music is heart-healthy, according to research. Based on the musical tempo rather than the style, songs have the capacity to increase or decrease our heart rates. When Italian and British researchers played lively music to young men and women, the participants had higher heart and breathing rates. When they listened to slower, more relaxing music, their heart and breathing rates dropped to mimic the tempo. During random two-minute pauses, the heart and breathing rates of the participants returned to normal.

In addition, The American Society of Hypertension claims that “listening to just thirty minutes of classical, Celtic or raga music every day may significantly reduce high blood pressure”.

Make Music Part of Your Life

Music can help make you physically, mentally, and emotionally healthier. It can increase your concentration, memory recall, productivity, happiness, learning ability, and exercise performance. From babies to seniors, the benefits of listening to or playing music on a routine basis are numerous. It’s not too early or too late to learn how to play an instrument or to incorporate more music into your life.

Filed Under: Articles, Holistic Living, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Stress Management

June 19, 2016 By Suruchi Saini

How Music Affects the Brain – Part 2

The Mental Benefits

The role of music in one’s life is an important one. As noted in the most recent post, there are several emotional benefits to playing and listening to music, whether it’s bright and happy, slow and relaxed, or sometimes even somber.

And, since music engages every part of the brain, there are also numerous ways it mentally enhances us.

Handpicked Songs Increase Productivity

Hearing music, especially that selected by the listener, has been shown to boost performance in the workplace (as well as in the world of academia).

Studies have documented that office employees who choose their own music are likely to finish tasks faster and devise better solutions than their colleagues who are not allowed to listen to their preferred type of music.

Having Trouble Paying Attention?

A correlation has been made between listening to tranquil classics or relaxing music and an increase in the length and strength of concentration regardless of the listener’s age or ability level.

Although it has not yet been determined which kind of music is best, or what musical environment is required, a number of studies have noted the connection between music and attention span.

A Lesson in Music

Whether music is taught in school or at home, it can help students improve their test scores and language development as well as increase their spatial intelligence (understanding how things work together).

Learning music at an early age promotes brain plasticity (the brain’s capacity to change and grow), and children who study music have been shown to perform better in reading, math, and language arts than their non-musical peers. As few as four years of music lessons has been linked to increased brain functionality, even when tested forty years later.

A study conducted on babies who were not yet old enough to walk or talk revealed that those who listened to nursery rhymes and were shown how to play drums smiled more often and communicated better than infants who were not given music lessons.

How’s Your Memory?

Songs, especially those composed by Mozart, have the power to affect memory. A pattern of sixty beats per minute—which defines a considerable amount of baroque music—concurrently stimulates the left and right brain, an action that maximizes the retention of information. Furthermore, playing an instrument, and singing, simultaneously engages each side of the brain, allowing the brain to better process information.

Studies have shown that particular types of music are adept at helping listeners recall memories. Material learned while listening to a certain song can often be recalled simply by thinking of that song.

Does Age Matter?

Music has been shown to improve memory performance in people of all ages. The benefits of musical training at a young age are plentiful, and clear evidence exists that children who study music develop better memories than their peers who go without music lessons.

Perhaps more interesting, though, is that seniors who take up an instrument for the first time or who regularly sing and dance reap great psychological rewards. That’s because music has been shown to ward off memory problems and cognitive decline more than most other activities.

So now we know music can boost our spirits, increase our memory retention and recall, and helps us be more productive. In the third installment of this three-part series on how music affects the brain, we’ll explore the many physical benefits attributed to listening to and playing music.

Filed Under: Anxiety, Articles, Holistic Living, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Stress Management

June 5, 2016 By Suruchi Saini

How Music Affects the Brain – Part 1

Spring_2016The Emotional Benefits

“The Universal Language – Music”. Everyone (human beings; animals; plants) enjoys some form of music! Some of us might have forgotten this due to stress or busy lifestyle but we know when our favorite music plays, it changes our chemistry and affect our mood. So let’s give ourselves this permission to enjoy it for at least 15 minutes/day. Its meditational and uplifting!

Numerous studies have touted the myriad benefits of listening to music, an activity among few others that stimulates every known part of the brain. From boosting creativity to increasing exercise performance, music can be helpful in many ways.

Not all music is created equally, though, and if it’s too loud or jarring, it can be harmful. However, listening to—or better yet, playing—most music, at a moderate volume, is a great way to enhance your mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

So what are some of the reasons it’s good to turn on the radio, pop in your headphones, or hit ‘play’ on your iTunes list?

In the first post of this three-part series on how music affects the brain, we’ll look at its emotional benefits.

Listening to music lights up the brain’s limbic system, which is associated with emotions. Therefore, it can—and does—greatly affect us on an emotional level.

Note the Chemical Change

It has been documented that listening to music increases the “feel-good” chemical dopamine, which is part of the pleasure-reward system.

In addition, hearing live music or playing music with others activates the production of oxytocin, which is the brain chemical that helps us form personal bonds. Some evidence suggests that a boost in oxytocin created from listening to music can result in a person being more generous and trustworthy.

Moreover, listening to and playing music often lowers the stress hormone cortisol. Slow, quiet, classical music is most proven to minimize stress on people of all ages, even infants.

Music is a Mood Enhancer

Many studies have documented that listening to music can not only reduce negative emotions, it can actually instill feelings of positivity. Upbeat, cheerful songs in particular seem to most effectively induce optimistic outlooks.

People all over the world can attest to music’s ability to lift their spirits, and modern research backs that up. The psychotherapeutic benefits are now well-substantiated, which means music can indeed help “heal the soul”.

Is Sad Music Helpful?

A recent study showed that participants were able to identify a neutral face as happy or sad based on the type of music they had just listened to. The ability to hear sad music and then consider someone to be sad can lead to listeners being more empathetic towards others.

Also, while it may seem counter-intuitive, listening to sad music can be cathartic. Somber songs can help people who are going through rough times get in touch with their emotions, which is a vital step in the healing process.

Music is more than a mere art—it’s a beneficial tool for our emotional health. To reap the most rewards for your emotional state, err on the side of bright, lively songs or slow, peaceful tunes rather than anything too raucous.

In the next post, we’ll look at how music affects us on a mental level.

Filed Under: Anxiety, Articles, Holistic Living, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Stress Management

May 22, 2016 By Suruchi Saini

Depression Among Teens

April 2016Although the majority of those in the U.S. who suffer from depression are men and women older than 18, the mental illness does affect teens.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), an estimated 2.8 million adolescents in the U.S. aged 12 to 17 had at least one major depressive episode in 2014. That number represented 11.4 percent of the U.S. population aged 12 to 17, with the illness affecting three times as many females in that age range than males in that age range.

What’s more staggering is that Mental Health America estimates that one in five teens suffers from clinical depression.

What Causes Teen Depression?

Teens can be negatively impacted by a number of social, psychological, and physical challenges they face on a daily basis. These may include peer pressure, changing hormone levels especially Dopamine, developing bodies, relationship issues at home /outside and pressure to perform well in school and in sports.

Many teens overreact if things don’t go their way, and they can easily feel like life is unfair. This can lead to feelings of confusion, frustration, and stress. Furthermore, teens in today’s society can be especially affected by what they see in the media and how they experience and interact with the media, which is more prevalent and comes in various forms now than at any other time in history.

What Does Depression in Teens Look Like?

Like many adults who are afflicted with depression, some teens can appear sad, gloomy, and despondent. More frequently, however, the main symptom among depressed teens is irritability, which can present itself in the form of hostility, grumpiness, anger, or violence.

Some indications that a teen may be depressed are poor performance in school, withdrawal from social activities, low self-esteem, lack of concentration, problems with authority, substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, and suicidal thoughts and actions.

Teen Suicide

Mental Health America states that each year, almost 5,000 people aged 15 to 24 kill themselves, a rate that has nearly tripled since 1960. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents.

Some studies suggest that four out of five teens who attempt suicide give overt warning signs ahead of time such as threatening to commit suicide, writing poems or stories that refer to death, getting rid of possessions, or behaving in irrational ways.

A note on antidepressants: while medication has been shown to help some people who suffer from depression, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that people under the age of 25 “may experience an increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior when taking antidepressants, especially in the first few weeks after starting or when the dose is changed.”

How to Help Teens with Depression

When teens are depressed, there are a number of ways for them to find relief from the troublesome symptoms. To begin with, family members can present a platform on which teenagers feel comfortable in sharing their feelings and thoughts without feeling judged. Seek professional help early on to reduce the damage by making an appointment with a therapist and/or a psychiatrist. In addition, making new friends, participating in sports or other extracurricular activities, securing part-time employment, and volunteering are all avenues teens can explore to increase their self-esteem and self-worth, find meaning in life, and feel accepted.

Pay special attention on their diet, especially to their intake of water, and their vitamin D and Iron levels.

When depressed teens recognize that they need help to overcome their mental illness, they have taken the first step. It’s then up to family members, friends, teachers, and mentors to encourage them, support them and guide them in the right direction.

Again, please skim through my past Self Care posts to get few additional ideas!

Filed Under: Anxiety, Articles, Holistic Living, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Stress Management Tagged With: Depression

May 7, 2016 By Suruchi Saini

Depression among Women

ColorsWish everyone a very Happy Mother’s day!! Let’s take an opportunity to honor our mothers, grandmothers; God mothers; aunts or any women who ever cared for us so far in this journey. For me, besides my mother and grandmother there are many – my aunts; my cousins; my friends; my neighbors; and my favorite teachers! I feel there are motherly qualities in every woman irrespective of her age. Let’s celebrate those qualities this weekend!!

In continuation with my last post on “Depression among men“, today I am sharing my post on “Depression among women”. Here I go –

According to the Mayo Clinic, depression is “a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest”. It’s more than a series of a few bad days, and it’s more than experiencing life’s normal bumps and potholes. The latest studies are also calling it an inflammatory disease.

Depression, also known as major depressive order or clinical depression, impacts one’s feelings, thoughts, and actions, and an array of emotional and physical problems can stem from the disorder. It’s a serious condition that often needs to be addressed by a professional who may offer various treatment options and recovery plans, including medication use, lifestyle changes, or psychotherapy—also referred to as talk therapy or, simply, counseling.

By the Numbers

Although it is difficult to track the precise occurrence of a disorder that so many people do not admit to having—primarily due to the stigma that’s often attached to a mental illness of any kind—WebMD cites that an estimated 15 million Americans suffer from depression each year. While it affects people of all races, ages, sexes, and socioeconomic backgrounds, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that women are 50 to 70 percent more likely than men to experience depression, and at least 25 percent of women will experience depression at least once in their lives.

Why are More Women Affected?

Any number of factors may contribute to depression in women, but the most common are:

  • Genetics: Depression can be passed down from generation to generation through DNA, and since more women historically have suffered from depression, it presently affects more women.
  • Hormones: Women experience changes to their hormonal balances based on standard life cycle events such as starting menstruation, getting pregnant, giving birth, and transitioning into menopause, and the changes in estrogen and progesterone can alter brain chemicals like the mood-controlling serotonin.
  • Stress: Dealing with the death of a close friend or family member, or with the aftermath of a failed relationship, can wreak havoc on a woman’s happiness, self-esteem, or self-worth, often resulting in depression.
  • Thyroid malfunctioning: Due to Thyroid malfunction, women can suffer with mood swings which can affect their ability to socialize or have healthy relationships, can lead to Depression.

The Faces of Depression in Women

The types of depression that commonly affect more women than men are:

  • Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD): A small percentage of women deal with such strong PMS symptoms—bloating, irritability, breast tenderness, etc.—that they become unable to focus on their jobs, families, school work, relationships, or other important aspects of their lives.
  • Postpartum depression: After giving birth, some women feel overwhelming anxiety, exhaustion, and sadness, often to the point of being unable to properly care for their newborn babies.
  • Perimenopausal depression: Women transitioning out of menopause typically experience hot flashes, insomnia and forgetfulness. Coupled with a decrease in estrogen as well as the sadness as children grow up and move out of the house, depression during this period which can last from a few months to a few years, is not uncommon.
  • Seasonal affective disorder (SAD): During the darker winter months, some women withdraw from social groups, put on weight, and sleep excessively, and then return to their “normal”, depression-free selves in the spring.

Depression affects everyone differently, and NAMI states that “women are more likely than men to experience pronounced feelings of guilt, oversleep, and overeat”.

Regardless of why a woman may be dealing with depression, or what her symptoms may be, it’s important for her, and for her close family members, to understand that it’s a serious condition that needs to be taken care of before it gets worse.

Medicine comes very handy, especially in the initial stages. However, it has to be combined with self-care and coping skills. Check my recent posts on Self Care.

Filed Under: Articles, Holistic Living, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Mindfulness, Stress Management

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