A group of Yale researchers has published a new study in Frontiers in Neuroscience that suggests that listening to music while engaging in mindfulness exercises can more effectively treat symptoms of anxiety and depression than just engaging in mindfulness exercises, alone.
How?
Specifically, through targeting cardiac and neural mechanisms in the brain to “enhance multiple measures of HRV [Heart Rate Variability]” and by engaging autonomic and frontotemporal neural mechanisms. In other words, key parts of the brain that are associated with stress and depression.
The researchers captured this data by running an EEG while participants listened to either a live musical performance, during a guided mindfulness session, or a virtual one.
I’m not a neurologist so if you want to get into the science behind the results, you can click on the study and knock yourself out by looking at where and how the regions of the brain were affected (or alternatively, read this good breakdown from Medical Xpress).
But a key point is that the combination of music with mindfulness seems to be particularly strong in altering brain activity that can ease symptoms of depression and anxiety.
There are all kinds of other interesting results in the study – for example, the brains of men and women had different responses, in different areas.
Further, the researchers found, unsurprisingly I’d guess, that feelings of social connectedness were enhanced when a participant was in the actual room where the live music was being played versus in a room, next door, participating in the same practice, virtually.
In other words, live music, in the same space you’re in, seems to produce superior results on feelings of social connectedness, although both groups saw improvements in feelings of anxiety and depression, regardless of where they were.
The authors note, of course, that there’s plenty of research suggesting that music can have beneficial effects on symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as plenty of studies suggesting the same of mindfulness.
The combination of the two, though, seems to be particularly powerful, and importantly, it was confirmed through EEG readings of the brain.
In other words, researchers saw what was going on in the brain and therefore had better access to interpreting why the combo seemed effective.
Now, as an aside – personally – as for mindfulness-based exercises, I’ve found them to be a really useful tool, particularly in helping anxiety.
Christians have long felt icky about the idea of mindfulness because they associate it with new age or eastern religion or worse. However, if you look into what most mindfulness based activities actually are, there’s no theological case for making the claim that it’s spiritual harm to just focus on something as simple as your breathing, or – for example – taking a walk and noting the trees and the sky and the various things you see.
As scientific research has increasingly shown the benefits of the practice and as the theological case against it falls flat, some Christians have grudgingly come along to the idea, but insist on using “Christian mindfulness” where you do the mindful thing, while only focusing on a verse from the Bible or a Christian phrase.
Nothing wrong with that, and if it helps, that’s wonderful!
But I’ve found that my mind sometimes needs the simplicity of just noticing things like the steps I take, or the trees I see, or simply counting my number of breaths.
For some of us, our minds can use even wonderful verses as springboards for elaborate spiritual wanderings that aren’t necessarily a break from the way our minds relentlessly roam on other matters, and just as sleep provides our mind a rest, so can mindfulness.
And we don’t insist on carrying a verse into everything in order to get spiritual benefit.
Just as you can step outside of a concert and suddenly realize the wonder of music and the God who created it (the atheist, brilliant novelist Kurt Vonnegut once said if anything made him drift towards the idea there actually is a God, it was the existence of music), we can also step back from a session of breath-based mindfulness and come away with a greater appreciation of life and the God who gives it.
Or maybe we won’t.
Maybe we’ll just feel less anxious or depression. But that’s great, in and of itself, and feeds into how we meet the day, how we interact with others, and how we live out our salvation.
So again, I’m a big fan of the practice (wish I did it more, but it requires discipline), but perhaps it’s a stumbling block for you, and that’s okay to stay away. We should never violate our conscience or what we feel the Spirit is telling us.
Finally, if you struggle with depression, anxiety, or any other such disorders — for readers in the United States…
Find a psychiatrist here.
Find a therapist here.
For readers, internationally, seek help from a local resource.
For salvation, Christ and Christ alone.
[Painting: Song of the Towers, Aaron Douglas]
