How Does Music Relax the Body?
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Stress
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Stress is one of the most common problems that people face every day. Stress is defined as a specific response by the body to a stimulus like fear or pain that interferes with the normal, physiological equilibrium of an organism. Stress can wreck a person's mood, cause muscle tension, and it's been seen to contribute to high blood pressure and the formation of ulcers. Stress can be eliminated, or reduced, by people taking the time to relax after stressful events, the most common of which is working. However, relaxation can be a difficult thing for many people to achieve, particularly people who are chronically stressed.
Music
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One of the most common ways for people to relax and to reduce their stress is to listen to music. Stress is caused by a person's reaction to a negative stimulus such as fear or pain, and stress can be undone by exposing a person to a positive stimulus. Music, particularly music that is composed with the idea of relaxation in mind, is keyed to be a positive stimulus. Stress usually begins in the brain and spreads to the body, and the stress relief from music follows the same pattern. The way this is done is that, when a person hears music or sounds they find pleasurable, the sound receptors in the ears activate a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. This is the part of the brain that releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is typically associated with elevated mood and pleasure.
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Dopamine
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Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that allows the brain to send certain messages to the body. Formed from the amino acid tyrosine, dopamine is essential for healthy nervous system functioning, and it affects perception, mood and movement in the body. Though disorders like Parkinson's Disease (where the cells that produce dopamine are damaged or destroyed) and schizophrenia (where there is an imbalance of dopamine) are associated with dopamine, this neurotransmitter is also responsible for a person's pleasure, and through pleasure, relaxation.
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