Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share How Music Can Hold and Heal Us
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
How Music Can Hold and Heal Us
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.
Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.
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.
Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/49svzn4v
View all episodes
By PRX and Greater Good Science Center
4.5
18141,814 ratings
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.
Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.
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.
Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/49svzn4v
More shows like The Science of Happiness
View all
Living on Earth
465 Listeners
Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen
665 Listeners
Latino USA
3,748 Listeners
Afropop Worldwide
308 Listeners
On Being with Krista Tippett
10,369 Listeners
Live Wire with Luke Burbank
317 Listeners
The World
914 Listeners
Snap Judgment
11,543 Listeners
Sounds True: Insights at the Edge
1,832 Listeners
Good Life Project
3,284 Listeners
The One You Feed
2,505 Listeners
Reveal
8,245 Listeners
The Psychology Podcast
1,845 Listeners
Hidden Brain
43,474 Listeners
Untangle
829 Listeners
10% Happier with Dan Harris
12,531 Listeners
Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson
2,419 Listeners
The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos
14,432 Listeners
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
23,622 Listeners
How to Be a Better Human
1,359 Listeners
Suave
1,506 Listeners
A Slight Change of Plans
2,041 Listeners
We Can Do Hard Things
41,349 Listeners
How to Age Up
1,435 Listeners