Art of Life/Donna Parker
It Has Been Proven That Music Mellows Moods
Music makes life better. For millennia, humans across cultures have used music to soothe their souls and comfort pain. Parents worldwide sing lullabies to their young and we use it to mark special occasions such as birthdays, graduations, and weddings.
Instinctually, intuitively, we know that music makes life better. Music is used across cultures and ages as a powerful mood regulator. The emotional power of music is one of the main motivations why people devote so much time, energy, and money to it. People use music to achieve various goals, such as feeling more energized, maintaining focus on tasks, and reducing boredom. For example, we rely on music to help us power through workouts and tackle tasks we would rather ignore, and we manipulate our moods with melodies.
Music and mood
Listening to (or making) music increases blood flow to brain regions that generate and control emotions. The limbic system, which is involved in processing emotions and controlling memory, “light” up when our ears perceive music.
The chills you feel when you hear a particularly moving piece of music may be the result of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that triggers sensations of pleasure and well-being. As your brain becomes familiar with a particular song, your body may release dopamine upon hearing just the first few notes of the song.
Interestingly, music can affect our mood even if you cannot recognize or replicate the notes and rhythm. Science has documented numerous instances of people who suffered brain injuries and lost their ability to distinguish melodies but retained the ability to recognize the emotion conveyed by music. Researchers noted that these patients had sustained damage to the temporal lobes of the brain, a region involved in comprehending melody; however, their frontal lobes, which play a role in emotional regulation, were unaffected.
How does music elicit such a powerful effect on the mind?
Humans have a complex relationship with music. It is very clear to most of us from personal, experience that music can make us feel happy, positive, energized and motivated, but it can also move us to tears, induce anger or enhance sadness. Furthermore, these effects are uniquely personal to each of us — no one piece of music will have the same effect for every listener.
Studies have shown that music can lower stress levels, lower cortisol levels following psychological distress, ease physical pain, and improve post-surgery outcomes — but what sort of music, and how long do you need to listen for in order for it to be effective?
This is the question that researchers at the British Academy of Sound Therapy set out to answer. The research aimed to suggest a ‘dosage’ level at which music can boost psychological wellbeing in everyday use. They explored this question across 24 different genres of music, including classical, rap, hip hop, pop, new age, and dubstep, etc., aiming to find out what it was about specific pieces of music that has the therapeutic effect — is it the lyrics, for example, or part of the instrumentation? The results make for fascinating reading and some suggested ‘doses’ of music have indeed emerged.
Music as medicine: What is your daily dose?
As little as nine minutes of music can have a therapeutic effect overall. The research showed that listeners reported therapeutic benefits of listening to music after just 13 minutes of exposure. Over 7,500 people took part in the study, responding to questions about how they used music for happiness, for concentration and for easing sadness.
Music for Happiness
Most Effective Type of Music: Music with a strong rhythm, happy or positive lyrics and an upbeat tempo. Optimum Dose: nine minutes. Reported benefits: Improved energy, laughter, feelings of happiness, feeling more in control.
Music for Concentration and Focus
Most Effective Type of Music: Slow tempo classical music, ambient noise or instrumental music with no lyrics. Optimum Dose: 13 minutes. Reported benefits: Clarity of mind, better decision making ability, and more self-confidence.
Music for Easing Sadness
Most Effective Type of Music: Music with lyrics which are meaningful to the listener
Optimum Dose: 13 minutes; Reported benefits: Relief and release of emotions, greater emotional stability, less emotional overwhelm.
It may take scientists years to fully untangle music’s actions on our brain. Thankfully, we can enjoy music’s benefits without fully understanding the science.
