Music and Mental Health

Listening to music can be entertaining, and some research suggests that it can even make you healthier. Music can be a source of pleasure and contentment, but there are many other psychological benefits as well. Music can relax the mind, energize the body, and even help people manage pain in a better way.

The psychological effects of music can be powerful and wide-ranging. Music therapy is an intervention sometimes used to promote emotional health, help patients cope with stress, and boost psychological well-being.  Your taste in music can provide insight into different aspects of your personality.

Music and stress   

Music has been suggested  to help reduce and manage stress:

One of the ways by which this is made possible is the recent trend centered on meditative music, created to soothe the mind and induce relaxation. This trend is actually supported by research. Listening to music can be an effective way to cope with stress. 

In a 2013 study, participants  were divided into three groups: the first group listened to relaxing music, the second listened to the sound of rippling water, and the third received no auditory stimulation. They were all later exposed to a stressor, then took a psychosocial stress test. 

The results suggested that listening to music had an impact on the human stress response, particularly the autonomic nervous system. Those who had listened to music tended to recover more quickly following a stressor.

Music and sleep 

Insomnia is a serious problem that affects people of all age groups. While there are many approaches to treating this problem, research has demonstrated that listening to relaxing classical music can be a safe, effective, and affordable remedy.

In a study looking at college students, participants listened to classical music, an audiobook, or nothing at all at bedtime for three weeks. Researchers assessed sleep quality both before and after the intervention.

The study found that participants who had listened to music had significantly better sleep quality than those who had listened to the audiobook or received no intervention.

Music and mental health

Researchers have also found that music therapy can be a safe and effective treatment for a variety of disorders, including depression, trauma, and schizophrenia. One study found that music therapy was a safe, low-risk way to reduce depression and anxiety in patients suffering from neurological conditions such as dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease. Music acts as a medium for processing emotions, trauma, and grief. It can also be utilized as a regulating or calming agent for anxiety or mental dysregulation.

When feeling lost or broken, music can provide people with an opportunity for self-expression, safety, peace and comfort.

While music can certainly have an impact on mood, the type of music is also important. Classical and meditation music offer the greatest mood-boosting benefits, while heavy metal and techno music are ineffective and even detrimental.

There are four major interventions involved with music therapy:

1. Lyric Analysis

While talk therapy allows a person to speak about topics that may be difficult to discuss, lyric analysis introduces a new and less-threatening approach to process emotions, thoughts, and experiences. A person receiving music therapy is encouraged to offer insight, alternative lyrics and tangible tools or themes that can apply to obstacles in their life and their treatment. We all have a song that we deeply connect to and appreciate—lyric analysis provides an opportunity for an individual to identify song lyrics that may correlate with their experience. 

2. Improvised Music Playing

Playing instruments can encourage emotional expression, socialization and exploration of various therapeutic themes (conflict, communication, grief, etc.).  For example, a group can create a “storm” by playing drums, rain sticks, thunder tubes and other percussive instruments. The group can note areas of escalation and de-escalation in the improvisation, and the group can correlate the “highs and lows” of the storm to feelings they may have.  This creates an opportunity for the group to discuss their feelings further.

3. Active Music Listening

Music can be utilized to regulate the mood. Because of its rhythmic and repetitive aspects, music engages the neocortex of our brain, which calms us and reduces impulsivity. We often utilize music to match or alter our mood. While there are benefits to matching music to our mood, it can potentially keep us stuck in a depressive, angry or anxious state. To alter mood states, a music therapist can play music to match the current mood of the person and then slowly shift to a more positive or calm state.

4. Songwriting

Songwriting provides opportunities for expression in a positive and rewarding way. Anyone can create lyrics that reflect their own thoughts and experiences and select instruments and sounds that best reflect the emotions behind the lyrics. This process can be very validating and can aid in building self-worth. This intervention can also instill a sense of pride, as someone listens to their own creation.

Ways to use music for mental health

All in all, music is more than just a form of entertainment and there are lots of links between music and mental health. How can you use it in your day-to-day life? 

Here are some of the ways:

• Focus. Classical music can really help you focus. Music that has a tempo of 60 bpm (beats per minute) increases the efficiency of the brain in processing information. The best way to use it is to have it playing softly in the background as you get on with your tasks.

• Expression.  Creating your own music – whether simply strumming a guitar or composing lyrics to a song – can help you express and process your emotions. It is more about how it makes you feel, than how it sounds.

• Social connection. Music can stop you from feeling lonely or isolated. Whether it is sharing playlists with your friends, or meeting new, like-minded people at your favorite band’s next concert, music connects people.

• Creativity. Listening to or making music allows your brain to think creatively 

• Relaxation.   Music helps you to relax. If you choose the right kind of music, it is a safe bet that you will feel relaxed in no time.

• Motivation.  Always use your favorite music as a motivational force. 

• Improved Sleep Quality. A study involving students found that listening to relaxing classical music at bedtime improved sleep quality. This activity was also associated with decreased signs of depression. 

• Uplifted Mood. Research shows that listening to happier music can make you feel happier, especially if you try to lift your mood while listening. There’s also evidence that formal music therapy can help with depression when used alongside other therapies.

• Mood Playlists. If you are feeling down, anxious, or upset, find a track that expresses how you feel. Feel those emotions and let the lyrics resonate within you. Then, gradually shift your listening choices so that the music takes you into a happier or calmer place. This is a popular technique used by music therapists.

Limits of Music as a Mood Booster

Matching music to your current mood can be validating, but it can also keep you stuck in a negative emotional state if you let it. 

You can listen to a sad song when you are upset or let out your anger to some heavy metal. Remember to be mindful of where it is taking you and shift into something different if you feel yourself getting stuck.

It’s also important to consider that while music can be a powerful tool for regulating and shifting your emotions, it’s not a substitute for mental health treatment. If you have distressing emotional experiences that interfere with your ability to function, consider talking to a licensed mental health professional.