Listening to music affects your mood and can be entertaining as well as providing many psychological benefits.
Music energizes the body and helps people to manage pain and even relax the mind. These are the findings of many studies, which confirms my observations as a therapist.
I often recommend to my clients who are suffering with anxiety/depression to listen to music while taking a walk, working or before falling asleep.
The psychological effects of music are wide-ranging and emotionally powerful. Music therapy is sometimes used to help patients to cope with stress, promote emotional health and boost psychological well-being.
New research shows that music can reduce anxiety, boost happiness and can lift your mood. Music is an integral part of the human experience from the drumbeats of our ancient ancestors to today’s streaming activities.
Even sad music brings comfort and pleasure in most listeners according to a study published in PLOS ONE journal, conducted by the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland and Durham University in the United Kingdom.
However, it has also been found that sad music can cause negative feelings of profound grief for some people.
According to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, when people experienced a deep interpersonal loss, such as the end of a relationship, they mostly prefer to listen to sad music.
It was suggested by the authors of this study that music is something that provides an alternative for the lost relationship.
Another study suggested the way that music affects your mood is that it releases certain chemicals in the brain that play an important role in setting good moods.
Chemicals such as dopamine are released at the moments of peak enjoyment that ultimately improves the mood swings. Dopamine plays a key role in our emotional, cognitive and behavioral functioning.
It is the same hormone that releases in response to other stimuli such as money and food. Dopamine is known to produce a positive state of feeling good much like the reaction of certain stimuli ranging from eating sweets to taking cocaine.
It was found that levels of dopamine were increased up to 9% when volunteers were listening to music that they enjoyed.
In 2013, a study was published in the Journal of Positive Psychology which suggests that people who listened to upbeat music boost their happiness and improve their moods in just two weeks. Beyond feeling good, happier moods brings a lot of other benefits. Happiness is related to higher income, greater satisfaction of relationships and overall better physical health.
It was suggested by Catherine Meads, (a Ph.D. scholar of Brunel University in the UK) in a press release that “Music is a safe, cheap and non- invasive intervention that should be available to everyone undergoing surgery to prevent them from mental health problems.
Music therapy can also play a powerful role when it comes to treating chronic conditions.
It has also been found that music therapy can be effective to treat mood disorders that are related to neurological conditions such as stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
Goldstein wrote in a column for Conscious Lifestyle magazine that music can actually enhance brain functions. He also said that music can evoke emotions, stimulate new neural connections and helps to regain memories.
There is no doubt that music affects your mood. Music can be entertaining and inspiring, but it also has strong psychological effects that improve your mood, well-being and has a positive impact on your overall health. Consider some of the major mental health benefits of incorporating music into your daily life instead of just thinking of music as pure entertainment. You will find yourself motivated, relaxed and happy.
