Can playing music help you live longer and healthier?

Playing music is one of the few activities that fully engages the brain: motor skills, memory, auditory processing, emotion, attention, and even visual-spatial reasoning are all activated at once. It’s no surprise, then, that it’s been shown to reduce stress and improve overall mental wellbeing.

According to the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association, music can:

• Lower stress by reducing cortisol levels

• Trigger dopamine release – the brain’s natural reward chemical

• Improve emotional regulation and resilience

• Ease symptoms of anxiety, depression, and trauma

• Support healing in medical and therapeutic settings

• Activate the limbic system – the area of the brain responsible for emotion and memory

It’s not just about feeling good – music has real, measurable effects on the mind.

💡 ARTMASTER TIP: Find out more about the ways that learning music benefits the brain and body.

More and more evidence is pointing to one big idea: playing music may help prevent dementia.

• A 2022 study of 17,000+ people found a 27% lower risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s, among those who played musical instruments.

• A 2021 meta-analysis of 66,000+ participants found a 36% lower risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s-type dementia in those who had played instruments regularly.

• Researchers believe this is due to the way music builds cognitive reserve – a kind of mental buffer that protects the brain even as it ages or faces neurodegenerative disease.

Why is music so effective? Because it stimulates and strengthens the same brain systems that Alzheimer’s tends to weaken:

• Memory

• Concentration

• Motor coordination

• Emotion and creativity

• Multisensory integration

• Real-time problem-solving

Few activities engage so many regions of the brain simultaneously — and that’s exactly what makes music a powerful defence against conditions like Alzheimer’s.

💡 ARTMASTER TIP: Want to protect your brain and reduce the risk of cognitive decline? Try our beginner courses for piano, guitar, or singing at ArtMaster. Take the first effective step to boosting your cognitive health! Start your free trial today!

You don’t need to have studied music as a child. Even starting later in life brings benefits.

A 2020 European study found that:

• Older adults who had played music at any point in life showed slower cognitive decline over five years.

• The benefits were visible even if they were no longer actively playing.

• Music had a greater long-term effect than many other leisure activities.

So if you’re picking up an instrument in your 50s, 60s, or beyond – your brain will still thank you.

💡 ARTMASTER TIP: Starting music later in life can actually be an advantage! As an adult, you bring focus, patience, and a deeper sense of purpose to your practice. Whether you’re learning the piano, guitar, or voice, consistency is key. Set aside small chunks of time each day to practice — even just 15 minutes — and you’ll see gradual improvement. The most important part is enjoying the journey!

Harvard Medical School’s Music as Medicine seminar shows how music supports recovery after brain injury, particularly stroke.

Dr. Gottfried Schlaug’s research reveals that:

• Singing helps patients regain speech by engaging the right hemisphere of the brain.

• In one study, stroke patients who listened to music for an hour a day showed:

  • 60% improvement in verbal memory

  • Significant gains in executive function – focus, planning, task management

Music doesn’t just protect the brain – it can help it rebuild after damage.

📄 Read Harvard’s “Music as Medicine” seminar PDF

Music isn’t just good for the mind. It supports physical wellbeing too.

Harvard researchers and other clinical studies have found that music can:

• Lower heart rate and blood pressure

• Relax the nervous system before and after surgery

• Improve vascular health – one study found that joyful music increased blood flow by 26%, comparable to aerobic exercise

• Support chronic illness recovery in hospitals and rehab centres

That’s why hospitals like Mayo Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital use music therapy as part of patient care.

💡 ARTMASTER TIP: Controlled breathing not only supports your singing but can also reduce stress and promote relaxation. To learn more, check out our article on breathing techniques for singers

A 2022 nationwide study in Sweden, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, offers new evidence that engaging with music might do more than sharpen your brain — it might also help you live longer.

Researchers followed over 140,000 adults for 17 years, tracking their musical engagement and health outcomes. They found that people who regularly played music or attended concerts had a significantly lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, even after accounting for factors like age, income, and physical activity.

The authors suggest that music may support longevity by:

• Reducing stress and cortisol levels

• Improving heart rate and blood pressure

• Encouraging social connection and emotional wellbeing

• Providing a sense of purpose and engagement with life

While more research is needed, this is the strongest evidence yet that music might be a protective lifestyle factor — not just for your mind, but for your heart and overall lifespan.

So… can playing music help you live longer?
There’s no single magic habit that guarantees a longer life – but music comes surprisingly close.

Playing an instrument:

✅ Strengthens memory and cognitive function
✅ Reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia
✅ Helps the brain recover after injury
✅ Lowers stress and improves emotional wellbeing
✅ Boosts cardiovascular health – and may reduce risk of early death
✅ Offers lifelong purpose, creativity, and joy

In short, music doesn’t just improve how you feel today – it may shape how well you age tomorrow.

If you’ve ever dreamed of playing an instrument, now’s the time. It’s never too late to start – and your brain, heart, and future self will thank you.

At ArtMaster, we’ve seen people in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s start learning music – and flourish.

You don’t need to be a professional or even “good.” You just need to play. Because every time you do, you’re investing in your future self.

Try out our 7-day free trial today!