Six Ways to Feel Better Through Music

Music can provoke “goosebumps” and bring a smile or a tear. Also, some songs we associate with the past or people important to us. Music can also support our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. In this material, you’ll learn 10 ways to help calm, relax and lift your spirits with music.

1. Play music to cope with stress

To get rid of stress and relax, make a suitable playlist. It is better to choose music with a slow tempo and without words. Use such a playlist after a hard day’s work, before going to bed or in stressful situations – for example, when going to the dentist, if there is such an opportunity.

2. Listen to music to cheer yourself up

Music promotes the production of the hormone dopamine, which is responsible for our mood. This was the result of a study by scientists published in Nature Neuroscience.

But it only works with music that you really like. Listen to it when you get home or in the car on your way to work to improve your mood. And it also makes physical activity more enjoyable, even if you’re not too fond of working out.

3. Put on some music to get you through some negative emotions

Admit it, you don’t want to listen to something cheerful if your boyfriend dumped you or had to quit your job. But sad songs are a great reflection of our emotions.

Listening to lyrics that talk about the feelings we’re going through makes us feel less alone in our problems. We can cry to sad songs, which is a way to cope with our emotions and calm down during the hardest times. 

On the other hand, optimistic music can be a kind of “impetus” to action. Recall how it is used in many movies: the heroine whose life is not going well, picks herself up and begins to change something to cheerful and positive music. We can do the same by setting ourselves in an optimistic mood, for example, listening to such songs on the way to a job interview or a workout.

4. Create a “playlist of memories”

Nostalgia can bring us a smile and a cozy feeling that something beautiful was happening to us. Create a “playlist of memories” to occasionally dive into the past that brings you positive emotions.

Include songs you listened to with your mom when you were little, or songs from bands you liked in school. Or you could put songs that reminded you of good times – a trip to the seaside, a graduation party, a party you enjoyed so much.

Letting ourselves sink into happy memories sometimes gives us the strength and energy to create new ones.

5. Get inspired to work and create through music

All creative people sometimes experience “stagnation” when there are no ideas in their heads and no determination or energy to execute them. Music can help deal with this condition.

If you don’t use background music to work with, try it. It can be without words or consist of compositions by your favorite singers. The important aspect is that the volume should be moderate. And if you need to concentrate and focus, choose calm but rhythmic songs without words.

6. Support your immune system by creating an energizing playlist

In 2011, a team of scientists from a research university in Ohio, USA published the result of a study on the positive effects of music on our immune system.

Energetic music, they said, can normalize the rhythm of our breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and relieve muscle tension. It can also stimulate the production of dopamine. All this has a positive effect on the immune system – the better it works, the less often we get sick.

7. Change your perception of time by playing music with a different beat

Fridays can be too long, but the week before vacation flies by in the blink of an eye. To change the perception of time, you can use music.

Have you ever noticed that in restaurants, most of the time there is soft music playing? This “technique” is fairly well-known – the atmosphere that music tracks create makes us unknowingly spend more time in the establishment. And in the gyms use energetic music – so that the time of training flew by more quickly and they did not seem to us routine.

The same techniques you can use in everyday life. Play upbeat music while you’re standing in line at the supermarket, and slow music if you want time to “slow down” a bit.