Music is good for the soul — and immune system
To boost your immune system, doctors recommend a healthy diet that embraces fruits and veggies and has no vitamin deficiencies. But how about a little Prokofiev?
Sound like quackery? It’s not. Numerous studies, including a 2019 review in the journal Annual Research & Review in Biology, have found that both performing and listening to music can have a significant impact on the immune system. As COVID-19 fosters global tension and fear, everyone is looking for ways to mitigate that stress and boost the immune system to ward off viral infections.
“Certainly music has an impact on the brain, and anxiety and stress impact the immune system,” said Dr. Andrew Levin, a neurologist at the University of Pittsburgh.
Levin, an amateur trumpet player who performs with several local ensembles, said he’s not an expert in the ways music interacts with the brain. But it works for him.
“Music is a part of my stress release paradigm,” he said, adding that he