

Music has been proven to play a significant and beneficial role in improving our mental wellbeing and also our physical health and as Shakespeare’s opening line in play Twelfth Night asserted, “If music be the food of love, play on”.
Even in Shakespeare’s time it was recognised that music affects and influences our emotions. We can all probably recall at least one song or melody that evokes an emotional response either remembering a happy occasion or conversely a sad event.
Research has shown that your brain releases dopamine (the feelgood chemical messenger) when listening to music that you like. Apparently listening to your favourite tunes for only 15 minutes can give you an emotional boost.
Further research also indicated that music can lower stress by decreasing the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the human body. As stress is responsible for 60% of illnesses and disease this is an important finding.
Writing in the medical journal The Lancet, researchers reported that listening to music before, during and after an operation can help to reduce pain and that this had been effective whilst patients were even under an anaesthetic.



If you would like to see the play Twelfth Night, book a night out at the theatre but if you have difficulty in clearly hearing the lines or can no longer enjoy music because of a hearing issue, then follow this link to our online booking system or call Freephone 1800 804322.
Sources
- The Lancet Volume 386, Issue 10004, 24–30 October 2015, Pages 1659-1671
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
- Psychology Today: Cortisol: Why the “Stress Hormone” Is Public Enemy No. 1