Listening To Music Is Just As Effective As Medicine, Says Study

We all have our playlists that help us get out of or induce a certain mood. Music indeed heals the soul, but can it really heal the body?

It may be a possibility. With recent studies in musical therapy, we're one step closer to having our favorite Spotify playlist prescribed to us by doctors.

The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center conducted a study that compared the effect of live music to recorded music. As a result, "live music promoted vigor and relieved more stress and tension in cancer patients than that of the recorded variety."

During a live performance, we're more inclined to move our bodies to the beat, and we're more mentally stimulated, because we have to concentrate on the performance in front of us — ultimately distracting us from our daily stress, even if temporarily.

Continuing this research, an article in The Atlantic explained that "current research has concluded that music's effect on movement had a positive effect for those with Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder that affects the movements and motor skills of those affected."

More precisely, "When Parkinson's patients listened to music — specifically that which contained a steady rhythm or beat — they showed significant improvements in their walking." This is a remarkable finding because those with Parkinson's suffer from "disruptions in movement."

Overall, "the evaluations of what music does in the body [are] based on subjective responses and lack the objective real-time measurements of physiology," says Ketki Karanam, co-founder of The Sync Project. Interestingly, the Sync Project is currently researching the physical and mental effects on people.

This research is set to "inform users of which types of music are most suitable for each of their different moods — uniquely." With programs such as this, we'll be able to pinpoint exactly which songs help us when we feel ill.

Perhaps we'll be prescribed a live performance of Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off" when we have a cold.