Music, and in particular Christmas carols, acts on our brain by stimulating the limbic system, the center of emotions. Listening to a song you enjoy triggers the production of dopamine, the hormone of motivation, reward and movement. This is why, for example, a child often starts dancing when hearing a happy song.
These benefits are particularly marked with Christmas carols, because another brain structure, the hippocampus, is also used. Music awakens happy memories. For example, playing familiar music to patients with Alzheimer’s disease can make them smile, thus reactivating the memory circuit and happy memories.
Singing together creates a sense of belonging and community. Whether at family reunions, in churches or at concerts, these shared moments strengthen social bonds. Vocal and rhythmic synchronization during collective singing stimulates the secretion of oxytocin, the bonding hormone.
Singing, an anti-stress weapon par excellence
By reducing cortisol, the stress hormone, and increasing the production of endorphins, listening to a song you love provides notable well-being. Canadian researchers have even demonstrated that listening to your favorite music can reduce the intensity of pain by 10%, as much as an over-the-counter painkiller at a pharmacy!
Music softens morals, relieves pain, and could even wake the dead. About ten years ago, a 53-year-old British woman made a cardiac arrest and found herself in a coma with little chance of survival. His daughter decided to play him his favorite song on headphones, and miraculously, she woke up, regained the ability to speak three days later and returned home after two weeks.
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