Just as the needle on a record player sometimes gets stuck in a groove, playing the same notes over and over again, our brains can get stuck in a grove, worrying over the same thoughts again and again.

This is known as overthinking.  When overthinking strikes, could music be the cure?

The answer might be yes. 

To understand why music can help us stop overthinking, it’s helpful to know a bit about how music affects the brain.

Music enters the brain through the auditory nerve, which reaches into every major section of our brain.

Music touches our memories, movement centers, emotions, language processing centers, creative abilities, analytical powers, and visual-spatial centers.

It even affects the deepest, most automatic levels of our brain that control heartbeat, breathing, and digestion. 

Because it touches so many parts of our brains, music has tremendous power to influence our moods and wellbeing.

Listening to music you enjoy can shift your mood, improve your wellbeing, and help stop the endless spiral of overthinking. 

To harness the power of music, simply pick something you like to listen to, turn it on, turn it up, and pay close attention to the notes, rhythm and lyrics.

If you listen to music you love, you’ll quickly drown out your other thoughts. 

You can also use music to shift your mood. Since music is strongly tied to our memories, we can easily evoke memories of special times in our lives by playing music from that era.

Turn on something that brings up happy memories and let yourself get swept away. 

To further immerse yourself in the music, sing, hum, or play along. #singforjoy

If you can’t sing or play an instrument, then tap your toes, snap your fingers, or grab an imaginary baton and pretend to conduct the orchestra. #makemusiceveryday

Ready to have more music in your life? Let’s chat.