The Impact of Music on Your Mental and Physical Health and Energy Body Guest Written By Jessa Brooke

Music makes you feel a slew of emotions that sometimes depend on our mood but also can depend solely on the music we listen to. Have you ever been driving and a fast-paced song starts to play and before you know it, you are speeding or zipping around a little faster? If so, you are certainly not alone!

Why does music make us feel a certain way? Is it our emotions, the words of the song, or the beat? While all of these things can impact how a song makes us feel, there are also other factors at play. Have you ever considered the frequency of the music playing or the vibrations from the sounds in the song? The vibration and frequency of music are just as important as the words and beat. Especially when we begin to look at the impact of the song on our emotions and energy.

When a slow song comes on during a workout, it has the potential to slow you down and even cause a distraction while you try to change to something more up to the speed you are working at. This has a lot to do with the beats per minute (BPM), as BPM increases, our heart rate increases. The vibrations from the tunes cycle through your speakers and vibrate your eardrums, causing a physical response.

Have you ever listened to lower BPM music before bed to help you relax?

It has a similar, although reverse, effect. The increase or decrease in vibration creates sensations in our bodies and also prompts a response in our brain. Another interesting aspect of vibration can be found at concerts, or when subwoofers are used for listening to music. The lower vibration music creates a deep bass that you can actually feel vibrating through your body. Sometimes it even takes your breath away!

Think about a concert that you’ve gone to, where you were closer to the speakers. Do you remember feeling the vibration as the music pulsed through your body? It is a powerful feeling, isn’t it? Music and the vibrations that we feel from the beats in songs have a physical and energetic impact on us. However, frequency has an even bigger impact on our energy, and you might be surprised to learn that it can impact us physically as well.

            Frequency is very interesting and is within every sound we perceive and even exists in such high and low ranges that we cannot hear them. The low end of the frequency spectrum is called infrasound. Infrasound is inaudible at certain levels (typically a human can detect tones as low as 12 Hertz) and can cause physical damage around 4-8 Hz or lower. Different parts of the human body resonate at their frequency, for example, your eyeball holds the frequency of 19 Hz.

There is an interesting story called Ghosts in the Machine that discusses the physical effects of this frequency on vision as documented in a laboratory by several technicians. Another fun fact about frequency is that music was once set at 432 Hz as a standard for production but has since changed to 440 Hz since an adjustment in the early 1900s. The reasoning behind this is highly speculated, and a lot of countries still use 432 Hz as their standard for tuning instruments.

Higher frequency sounds are said to have a lot of benefits on our physical and emotional well-being, for instance, 639 Hz is said to help with communication, relationships, and love (associated with the heart chakra and the colour green).

There are a lot of options online for listening to music tuned to higher frequencies and sound baths are a great example of ways to experience the effects in person. Typically, a sound bath will include various instruments such as a gong, bells, chimes, and sound bowls. Some sound bowl sets have bowls tuned to several higher frequencies, and you can find great examples of these sound baths as produced by Dynasty Electrik. Another example of how frequency sounds are used for healing and/or changes in the body are binaural beats or subliminal sounds, although subliminal sounds are typically affirmations spoken at very low levels rather than a specific frequency, they can be combined for powerful results. It is easy to see the impact frequencies can have on our mental and physical well-being just from these few examples.

The next time you turn up your favourite song, pay attention to all the sensations you are feeling. From the words to the vibration, and if you venture to test out different frequency sounds, notice how you feel afterwards. Experiment with headphones versus a home stereo or even a sound system with a subwoofer. If you ever feel like your mood or energy is taking a little dip, find a 20–30-minute 528 Hz song that you can play in the background while you clean, drive, or work. There are even 8–9-hour songs you can find on YouTube and listen while you sleep, just be sure for these you focus on relaxing, healing, and energy clearing. You might have some interesting dreams if you listen to a frequency that is trying to help you get amped up!

Music has so many great benefits and we can all attest to the effects a great song can have on our moods. Now you can take this newfound knowledge and experiment for different effects. Oh, and a sound bath is always a great idea! If you are new to the effects of frequency healing, a sound bath is a great way to relax and enjoy a new wave of sounds to lift your energy.

Check out these songs suggested by Switching Styles’ guest writer Jessa Brooke to improve your Mental and Physical Health.

 “Silent Night Sound Bath” By Dynasty Electric.

This is a High vibing song – which is perfect for a cool winter night.

“Forest Bathing” By Dynasty Electric.

This song always makes me feel like I’m walking out in nature

“174 + 285 + 396 + 417 + 528 + 693 + 741 + 852 + 963 Hz” By Walkower121

This is my favourite frequency mix on YouTube. It’s under an hour and has lots of great frequencies to help balance all your chakras.