Music is a powerful technique for assisting patients in deep relaxation. Certified music therapists are usually talented musicians with a thorough understanding of how music may elicit emotional reactions in people to help them rest, stimulate, or heal. They use this knowledge, as well as their familiarity with a wide range of musical styles, to find the right kind of music to help you get through a difficult physical rehab session or to help you meditate. They can also find music in your preferred genre, whether it's electropop or grand opera.

It's nearly impossible to meet someone who does not have a strong emotional attachment to music. Even if you can't sing or play an instrument, you can definitely come up with a list of songs that bring back fond memories and lift your emotions. Surgeons have traditionally used music to help them relax in the operating room, and allowing patients to listen to it has been related to better surgical outcomes. Music therapy has become increasingly important in all aspects of recovery over the last few decades.

Music therapy is one of the most researched of the arts therapies, and studies have been done on its effects on children, including premature newborns, preoperative patients, and brain-injured adults, to name a few.

"Music helps sick individuals forget about hospital traditions," says Audree O'Connell, associate professor of music therapy at the University of the Pacific's Conservatory of Music in Stockton, Calif. "They can be 'somewhere else' when listening to music. It diverts their attention away from the procedures and exams they must through "she explains.