News: How is Music Affecting our Mood?

It’s safe to say that the majority of us listen to music on a daily basis, but do you know just how much music can impact your mood? From personal experience I can confirm that music takes on a huge part of mood if listening to it on a daily basis. If you go to the gym you’re likely listening to music which will get you energized, it’s the same concept. Don’t just take my word for it though, this is what the professionals have to say.

A study done in 2013 by The Journal of Positive Psychology found that people who listened to music that was more upbeat and positive were able to improve their happiness and mood overall in a few weeks. Not only does music help improve mood and happiness but it also changes your outlook on life and how you perceive things such as perceiving neutral face expressions as happy instead of sad (AIMM). This is because more upbeat music makes our brains produce chemicals like dopamine and serotonin. 

Listening to upbeat music can also help treat things like depression and anxiety and is proven to reduce stress. When listening to happier music your brain releases dopamine like stated previously but the thing about dopamine is that it is the bodies natural antidepressant which in turn helps with conditions like depression (PPL PRS). While listening or preforming music it can have an effect on your heartbeat, if the bpm (beat per minute) in the music you’re listening to is higher than yoru heartbeat becomes higher (speeds it up) which can cause anxiety but if the music has a lower bpm then your heartbeat will become more relaxed and steady (slowing it down). 

Not only can the bpm help reduce stress but can also lower your cortisol levels which is the human stress hormone and if your levels lower than you will feel less stressed. Researches have shown that listening to sympathetic music, no matter what your music preference is, it will reduce those levels (PPL PRS). 

This being said listening to music that is sad or has a higher bpm consistently, will not only make more depressed and sad but also cause you more stress. So maybe find a song that makes you feel good or maybe go into beethoven’s discovery page and listen to some instrumentals.