GROUP DRUMMING BENEFITS THE BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT!

The following study showed that group drumming therapy lowers cortisol – an adrenal hormone produced in response to stress – and increases DHEA, which enhances immunity, memory, and neural functioning.  It is also known to hamper osteoporosis, and combat atherosclerosis, hyperglycemia, and cancer.  It is currently being researched as a treatment for depression, arthritis, asthma, lupus, and frailty in the elderly.¹   

Group drumming therapy also increases “natural killer cells”, which are lymphocytes capable of binding to and killing virus-infected cells and some tumor cells.¹   The study also found an increase in lymphokine, which enhances cell-mediated immunity and regulates immune responses.  Lymphokine is also used in the treatment of cancer.²

1-Jonas: Mosby's Dictionary of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. (c) 2005, Elsevier

2- Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. ©    2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc.

Composite effects of group drumming music therapy on modulation of neuroendocrine-immune parameters in normal subjects.

Bittman BB, Berk LS, Felten DL, Westengard J, Simonton OC, Pappas J, Ninehouser M.

Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2001 Jan;7(1):38-47.

Source

Meadville Medical Center's Mind-Body Wellness Center, 18201 Conneaut Lake Rd, Meadville, PA 16335, USA. doctorb@mind-body.org

 Abstract

CONTEXT: Drum circles have been part of healing rituals in many cultures throughout the world since antiquity. Although drum circles are gaining increased interest as a complementary therapeutic strategy in the traditional medical arena, limited scientific data documenting biological benefits associated with percussion activities exist.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of group-drumming music therapy as a composite activity with potential for alteration of stress-related hormones and enhancement of specific immunologic measures associated with natural killer cell activity and cell-mediated immunity.

DESIGN: A single trial experimental intervention with control groups.

SETTING: The Mind-Body Wellness Center, an outpatient medical facility in Meadville, Pa.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 111 age- and sex-matched volunteer subjects (55 men and 56 women, with a mean age of 30.4 years) were recruited.

INTERVENTION: Six preliminary supervised groups were studied using various control and experimental paradigms designed to separate drumming components for the ultimate determination of a single experimental model, including 2 control groups (resting and listening) as well as 4 group-drumming experimental models (basic, impact, shamanic, and composite).

The composite drumming group using a music therapy protocol was selected based on preliminary statistical analysis, which demonstrated immune modulation in a direction opposite to that expected with the classical stress response.

The final experimental design included the original composite drumming group plus 50 additional age- and sex-matched volunteer subjects who were randomly assigned to participate in group drumming or control sessions.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pre- and post-intervention measurements of plasma cortisol, plasma dehydroepiandrosterone, plasma dehydroepiandrosterone-to-cortisol ratio, natural killer cell activity, lymphokine-activated killer cell activity, plasma interleukin-2, plasma interferon-gamma, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory II.

RESULTS: Group drumming resulted in increased (DHEA) dehydroepiandrosterone-to-cortisol ratios, increased natural killer cell activity, and increased lymphokine-activated killer cell activity without alteration in plasma interleukin 2 or interferon-gamma, or in the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory II.

CONCLUSIONS: Drumming is a complex composite intervention with the potential to modulate specific neuroendocrine and neuroimmune parameters in a direction opposite to that expected with the classic stress response.

Entrainment:

'The Hopping Study' -                       "Observations on the Control of Stepping and Hopping Movements in Man"                   

Melvill Jones, G.;Watt, D. "Observations on the Control of Stepping and Hopping Movements in Man". Journal of Physiology, 213, 1971. 703-727.

Retreived from: http://jp.physoc.org/content/219/3/709.full.pdf+html



For more information through results of studies, we suggest:

Thaut, Michael H.  "Neurologic Music Therapy in Cognitive Rehabilitation."  Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal.  Vol.27, No. 4 (April 2010), pp. 281-285 (6). 

http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/mp.2010.27.4.281 

Winkelman, Michael. Shamanism: The Neural Ecology of Consciousness and Healing.  Westport, Conn: Bergin & Garvey, 2000.

DRUM CIRCLES REDUCE EMPLOYEE BURNOUT, RELIEVE STRESS, AND IMPROVE MOOD IN LONG-TERM CARE WORKERS...

Economic-impact analysis projected cost savings of over $89,000 annually for a single typical 100-bed facility!

A cost effective group interdisciplinary strategy for reducing burnout and improving mood states in long-term careworkers.

Barry Bittman, MD; Karl T. Bruhn; Christine Stevens, MSW, MT-BC; James Westengard; Paul O. Umbach, MA.

Advances in Mind Body Medicine  Fall/Winter 2003, VOL. 19, NO 3/4

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This controlled, prospective, randomized study examined the clinical and potential economic impact of a 6-session Recreational Music-making (RMM) protocol on burnout and mood dimensions, as well as on Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) in an interdisciplinary group of long-term care workers.

METHODS: A total of 112 employees participated in a 6-session RMM protocol focusing on building support, communication, and interdisciplinary respect utilizing group drumming and... accompaniment.  Changes in burnout and mood dimensions were assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Profile of Mood States respectively.  Cost savings were projected by an independent consulting firm, which developed an economic impact model.

RESULTS: Statistically-significant reductions of multiple burnout and mood dimensions, as well as TMD scores, were noted.  Economic-impact analysis projected cost savings of $89,100 for a single typical 100-bedf facility, with total annual savings to the long-term care industry of $1.46 billion.

CONCLUSIONS: A cost-effective, 6-session RMM protocol reduces burnout and mood dimensions, as well as TMD, in long-term care workers.

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A similar study -- Mood Improvement & Burnout Reduction for Nursing Students -- reached the same conclusions.

(Recreational Music-Making: An Integrative Group Intervention for Reducing Burnout and Improving Mood States in First Year Associate Degree Nursing Students: Insights and Economic Impact (2004) Bittman, et al: International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship: Vol.1: No 1, Article 12). 

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 BRAIN WAVES:

"Research has demonstrated that the physical transmission of rhythmic energy to the brain synchronizes the two cerebral hemispheres...the logical left hemisphere and the intuitive right hemisphere begin to pulsate in harmony... .  (Winkelman)