How Music Can Hold and Heal Us
The Science of Happiness
PRX and Greater Good Science Center
4.4 • 1.9K Ratings
🗓️ 13 March 2025
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
An art-form powerful enough to prescribe — from ancient traditions to modern neuroscience, we uncover how music, including lullabies, function as a form of medicine.
Summary: Music has a unique ability to calm, heal, and bring people together, and lullabies are one of the earliest ways we experience this connection. In this episode, we explore how music affects the brain, reduces stress, and strengthens bonds between caregivers and children. Through science and personal stories, we reflect on the deep emotional power of lullabies and their role in both everyday life and moments of challenge. From ancient traditions to modern research, we uncover why lullabies remain a universal source of comfort.
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Today’s Guests:
ALEXIS CARIELLO is a social worker who was prescribed music to help manage her perinatal anxiety.
DR. DANIEL LEVITIN is a neuroscientist, musician, and bestselling author of the books, Music as Medicine: How We Can Harness Its Therapeutic Power and I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music As Medicine.
Follow Dr. Levitin on IG: https://www.instagram.com/daniellevitinofficial
Bringing Lullabies into Everyday Life
You don’t need to be a professional musician to bring the healing power of music into your caregiving routine. Here are some simple ways to incorporate lullabies into your daily life:
- Sing, Even If It’s Just for You: Whether you hum a tune while rocking a child to sleep or sing in the shower, music can help regulate emotions and ease stress.
- Create a Caregiving Playlist: Curate a selection of calming songs that bring comfort and connection.
- Write Your Own Lullaby: Personalizing a song can be a deeply meaningful way to express love and support.
- Share the Experience: Singing together can strengthen bonds, whether with a child, a partner, or a classroom of students.
Our Caring for Caregivers series is supported by the Van Leer Foundation, an independent Dutch organization working globally to foster inclusive societies where all children and communities can flourish.
To discover more insights from Van Leer Foundation and others on this topic, visit Early Childhood Matters, the leading platform for advancing topics on early childhood development and connecting diverse voices and ideas across disciplines that support the wellbeing of babies, toddlers and caregivers around the globe.
Music has the power to uplift, soothe, and connect. What lullabies, songs, or musical rituals bring you comfort? We’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] or message us on Instagram @ScienceOfHappinessPod.
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Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/49svzn4v
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I never had the certainty that I wanted to be a parent, and it took me a while to get to the point of saying, |
| 0:13.0 | okay, I want to do this, I think I want to try this. |
| 0:17.0 | One of the things that my parents gave me that was so strong was a love of music. |
| 0:23.6 | And when I tried to visualize what it would look like if I did take the leap into |
| 0:27.9 | parenthood, visualized myself singing to whoever this kid would be. |
| 0:33.4 | There were a variety of things that led me to ultimately take the leap and one of the things was the power of visualizing our relationship through music. |
| 0:41.5 | And I didn't yet know how crucial that would become, but I do remember thinking about music quite a bit beforehand. |
| 0:53.8 | Welcome to the Science of Happiness. I'm Dacker Keltner. |
| 0:58.2 | Today we're exploring how soothing music, especially lullabies, can do more than just calm children. |
| 1:05.0 | They're part of our history and cultural repertoire dating back at least 35,000 years, |
| 1:09.7 | and evoking deep emotions like joy, sorrow, hope, |
| 1:13.6 | and awe, reminding us we're part of something bigger. |
| 1:17.6 | Our guest today, Alexis Carriello, was prescribed music a few years ago to help manage perinatal anxiety. |
| 1:25.6 | Through a lullaby, she co-wrote, |
| 1:27.6 | she discovered an entirely new way |
| 1:30.1 | to connect with her son, her community, |
| 1:32.9 | and ultimately herself. |
| 1:35.4 | Later, neuroscientist, musician, |
| 1:37.4 | and best-selling author, Dr. Daniel Levitton |
| 1:39.6 | will help us better understand why music |
| 1:42.3 | can have such a calming effect on us. |
| 1:44.3 | In clinical trials, music is more effective than Valium in an operating room at reducing |
... |
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