Music Boosts Immune System

Kicking out the jams, it turns out, can also kick out the germs. That’s the conclusion of researchers at McGill University, who reviewed 400 research papers in the neurochemistry of music, and found that playing and listening to music has clear benefits for both mental and physical health. According to a McGill news release, music was found both to improve the body’s immune system function and to reduce levels of stress. Listening to music was also found to be more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety prior to surgery. The researchers found that music increased both immunoglobulin A, an antibody that plays a critical role in immunity of the mucous system, and natural killer cell counts (the cells that attack invading germs and bacteria). Read an abstract from the paper here.