Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Classical Music and Epilepsy (or Happy Birthday, Mozart!)



Today is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 259th birthday.  Classical music fans in Los Angeles and Orange County, California as well as online on Classical KUSC have been celebrating since Saturday


They say classical music, especially Mozart and Beethoven, makes you smarter.  In fact, that is the philosophy behind all those “Baby Einstein” CDs.  Just pop in a bit of Mozart, put your babies to sleep, and they’ll be geniuses!  Well, maybe not quite.  But classical music does stimulate the brain, and helps with spatial reasoning skills.  When you make the effort to study and learn on a long-term basis, you will “be smarter.”  

More importantly, classical music has a positive, calming effect on the brain that helps people with health problems. Among other things, it was shown that people exposed to soothing classical music while recovering in the hospital did not have to take as much medication.   As for epilepsy, one study concluded that Mozart’s Sonata for two pianos in D Major, K448 had a positive impact on reducing epileptic seizures.  

Whether or not it really makes you smarter or reduces your sickness, classical music is a gift that enriches our lives and I believe we should all enjoy it to the fullest.


Do you have any experiences with music (classical or otherwise) and epilepsy?  Please share your experiences.  I’d love to hear what you think!

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