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Power of Music: How Music Can Reduce Stress

• Categories: Music Therapy Stress Management

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Published: Aug 31, 2023

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The mind-body connection, rhythmic resonance and heart rate, stress hormone regulation, distraction and mood enhancement, personalized therapy and mindfulness, conclusion: a harmonious approach to stress reduction.

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How Music Heals and Inspires Us in Challenging Times

Making or listening to music, especially with others, helps keep us going..

Posted July 19, 2021 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

• Research shows that music, especially singing collectively, has positive social benefits.
• Music has been shown to reduce depression and anxiety, even in high-stress jobs.
• Music can help us to be resilient by reinterpreting difficult experiences to be less threatening.

Do you have a certain song that helps you weather your life’s storms? Whose lyrics capture your feelings, or whose beat shakes you out of your rumination? Do you listen to music to reflect your mood? Or maybe even to change your mood?

Think about how, during the dark depths of the early pandemic in 2020, people across Italy , Canada , and the United States would open their windows each evening and sing together. And how those in other countries also found ways to share music—including people singing together virtually online.

Their collective music-making was a remarkable testament to the human drive for survival. It was also a powerful reminder that our individual survival is linked to the solidarity we find in our shared humanity. Openly participating together in expressing the hope that keeps us going feels natural in the midst of a scary situation affecting everyone.

What the Research Shows

Research suggests that singing together fosters both individual health and social bonds among those who join in. Put simply, the endorphins it releases in our brains make us feel good. They also increase our ability to tolerate pain—including emotional pain, like that we experienced seeing such disturbing pandemic images as the tractor-trailers used as overflow morgues in New York City because so many people were dying of COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic.

A group of scientists who met back in 2006 at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics noted that research has demonstrated that music with a strong beat stimulates the brain and ultimately causes brainwaves to resonate in time with the rhythm. On the other hand, low beats encourage the slow brainwaves that are associated with hypnotic or meditative states. Faster beats may encourage more alert and concentrated thinking.

Listening to music has been found to reduce stress and anxiety even in critically ill hospital patients . One study found that even front-line nurses—a profession already high in stress and higher than ever in the pandemic—can reduce their stress by taking a break and listening to soothing music. In the study, one group of nurses listened to soothing music of their choice for 30 minutes while the other group simply rested quietly in a chair for 30 minutes. Researchers found after the 30-minute rest the nurses who listened to music had lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone , than those who had simply rested.

Recent research demonstrates that adding music to standard therapeutic tools made a difference for people with depression and anxiety compared with therapy without music.

Singing and Making Music Together Supports Resilience

Music, especially vocal music, has always been important to me. Ever since I was a boy, I have had an ear for human voices, able to recognize and distinguish individual singers by the unique tone of their voice. I’ve also had a knack for remembering song lyrics, meaning I can sing along with a lot of songs. Best of all, I have been blessed with a pretty good tenor voice, and I love to sing.

Add these things together, and you can understand why I have always had a song for every event, mood and occasion. I have used my mental jukebox and singing voice to vocalize my emotions. I have songs to motivate me when I need to recharge my energy, and other songs to give voice to loneliness and sadness. My repertoire includes plenty of songs to express joy and celebrate life. They are all part of why music has always been central to my own resilience .

I’ve thought about these things—and wrote this piece—after recently reading Harriett Beecher Stowe’s famous nation-changing 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin . Stowe evokes powerful images of the enslaved women and men who labored under the hot southern sun, picking cotton. They often sang spirituals together as they worked. “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” was one of the popular tunes included in the 1867 collection Slave Songs of the United States , the first-ever collection of African American music. Singing together was a way to ease each other’s pain and sorrow, and to provide strength to get through another day of bondage .

Another cultural reference: In the 1956 movie adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The King and I,” Deborah Kerr in “I Whistle a Happy Tune" sings:

While shivering in my shoes I strike a careless pose And whistle a happy tune And no one ever knows I'm afraid The result of this deception Is very strange to tell For when I fool the people I fear I fool myself as well

Her whistling is a version of “fake it until you make it.” The cheerful music diverts her mind from her fear so she can act instead with courage. It helps her manage her emotions and act from a more centered position.

Clearly, as research shows and as the pandemic singing and slave songs of old remind us, music can help us deal with whatever life may bring (or throw at) us—whether we whistle, sing, or simply listen, especially if it’s shared with others.

John-Manuel Andriote is an award-winning author, journalist, speaker, and communication consultant.

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How Listening to Music Can Have Psychological Benefits

Research-backed reasons why listening to music can feel so good

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Listening to music can be entertaining, and some research suggests that it might 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 help people manage pain better.

The notion that music can influence your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors probably does not come as much of a surprise. If you've ever felt pumped up while listening to your favorite fast-paced rock anthem or been moved to tears by a tender acoustic performance, then you easily understand the power of music to impact moods and even inspire action.

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. Some research even suggests that your taste in music can provide insight into different aspects of your personality .

At a Glance

Listening to music isn't just enjoyable—it's good for you, too! Research has found that it can help your brain process information more efficiently, increase your ability to cope with stress, and even help jog your memory. Keep reading to learn more about the many different benefits of listening to music, including a few that may surprise you.

Music Can Improve Cognitive Performance

Eternity in an Instant / Getty Images

Research suggests that background music, or music that is played while the listener is primarily focused on another activity, can improve performance on cognitive tasks in older adults. One study found that playing more upbeat music led to improvements in processing speed, while both upbeat and downbeat music led to benefits in memory.

So the next time you are working on a task, consider turning on a little music in the background if you are looking for a boost in your mental performance. Consider choosing instrumental tracks rather than those with complex lyrics, which might end up being more distracting.

Music Can Reduce Stress

It has long been suggested that music can help reduce or manage stress. Consider the trend centered on meditative music created to soothe the mind and inducing relaxation.

Fortunately, this is one trend supported by research. Listening to music can be an effective way to cope with stress.

Research has found that listening to music has an impact on the human stress response , particularly the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the autonomic nervous system .

People who listen to music tend to recover more quickly following a stressor. Evidence also shows that high-frequency music leads to the greatest stress relief, lowering cortisol and increasing oxytocin levels.

Music Can Help You Eat Less

One of the most surprising psychological benefits of music is that it might be a helpful weight-loss tool. If you are trying to lose weight, listening to mellow music and dimming the lights might help you achieve your goals .

One study found that listening to music at its original tempo was associated with normal eating pace. Speeding up or slowing down the tempo resulted in higher food intake.

Other research suggests that when people are distracted by music or if the music contributes to increased arousal, they may disregard feelings of fullness and overeat.

The emotions people feel when listening to music can also affect eating behaviors. In one study, people were more likely to report that beer was sweeter, better tasting, and more enjoyable when they were listening to music associated with positive feelings.

However, it's important to remember that the findings on the relationship between food and music are mixed. More research is needed, but you might put this into practice by choosing background music that is at a middle-range tempo and avoiding tunes that are fast-paced and upbeat in order to minimize overeating.

Music Can Improve Your Memory

Many students enjoy listening to music while studying, but is that a great idea? Some feel like listening to their favorite music as they study improves memory , while others contend that it simply serves as a pleasant distraction.

It may help, but it also depends upon various factors, including the type of music, the listener's enjoyment of that music, and even how musically well-trained the listener may be.

In one study, musically naive students learned better when listening to positive music, possibly because these songs elicited more positive emotions without interfering with memory formation.

However, musically trained students tended to perform better on learning tests when they listened to neutral music, possibly because this type of music was less distracting and easier to ignore.

If you find yourself distracted by music, you may be better off learning in silence or with neutral tracks playing in the background.

Research on the effects of music on learning is mixed. While students often report that they find it helpful, study results often suggest that it can be distracting, particularly music with lyrics. However, listening to instrumental background music may have some benefits.

One study found that participants learning a new language showed improvement in their knowledge and abilities when they practiced singing new words and phrases versus just regular speaking or rhythmic speaking.

Music Can Help Manage Pain

Research has shown that music can be very helpful in the management of pain. One study of fibromyalgia patients found that those who listened to music for just one hour a day experienced a significant reduction in pain compared to a control condition.

In the study, patients were passively exposed to pleasant, relaxing music of their own choice as well as a control auditory condition. They then performed a timed motor task to measure their functional mobility and rated their pain levels. 

The results found that listening to music before the task helped reduce pain and increased mobility.

A 2015 review of research on the effects of music on pain management found that patients who listened to music before, during, or even after surgery experienced less pain and anxiety than those who did not listen to music.  

While listening to music at any point in time was effective, the researchers noted that listening to music pre-surgery resulted in better outcomes. The review looked at data from more than 7,000 patients and found that music listeners also required less medication to manage their pain.

There was also a slightly greater, though not statistically significant, improvement in pain management results when patients were allowed to select their own music.

Music May Help You Sleep Better

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 music can be a safe, effective, and affordable remedy.​

One review of the research found that music had a beneficial impact on sleep quality. Some evidence suggests that music could also improve how quickly people fall asleep and increase sleep duration, but more research is needed.

Another study found that listening to relaxing music before a nap improves subjective and objective sleep quality measures. People reported feeling that they slept better, and listening to music was associated with increased slow-wave sleep (aka deep sleep ).

Music Can Improve Motivation

There is a good reason why you find it easier to exercise while you listen to music. Researchers have found that listening to fast-paced music motivates people to work out harder.

One study found that people exercise significantly longer when listening to music than without. Another study found that listening to high tempo music during high-intensity exercise can improve performance without causing people to feel like they are exerting themselves harder. In other words, while you might be exercising harder, it doesn't feel harder when you are listening to music.

So if you are trying to stick to a workout routine, consider loading up a playlist filled with fast-paced tunes that will help boost your motivation and enjoyment of your exercise regimen.

Music Can Improve Mood

Another of the science-backed benefits of listening to music is that it just might make you happier. Research suggests that listening to music can help boost your happiness, mood, and subjective well-being in several ways:

• It helps enhance social connections, particularly during shared musical experiences like concerts
• It helps support better cognitive health in older adults
• Playing an instrument can improve cognition and well-being
• Combining music with dance and movement can help improve mood and well-being
• Music can help marginalized people feel more connected and empowered and increase overall well-being and self-esteem

Researchers suggest that listening to music can be a highly pleasurable experience that increases positive emotions and promotes the release of dopamine , a neurotransmitter tied to pleasurable feelings.

Music May Reduce Symptoms of Depression

Researchers have also found that music therapy can be a safe and effective treatment for a variety of disorders, including depression .

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.

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.

Music Can Improve Endurance and Performance

Another important psychological benefit of music lies in its ability to boost performance. While people have a preferred step frequency when walking and running, scientists have discovered that the addition of a strong, rhythmic beat, such as fast-paced musical track, could inspire people to pick up the pace.  

Runners are not only able to run faster while listening to music; they also feel more motivated to stick with it and display greater endurance. The ideal tempo for workout music is somewhere between 125 and 140 beats per minute.

While research has found that synchronizing body movements to music can lead to better performance and increased stamina, the effect tends to be the most pronounced in cases of low to moderate intensity exercise. In other words, the average person is more likely to reap the rewards of listening to music more than a professional athlete might.

So why does music boost workout performance? Listening to music while working out lowers a person's perception of exertion. You're working harder, but it doesn't seem like you're putting forth more effort.

Because your attention is diverted by the music, you are less likely to notice the obvious signs of exertion such as increased respiration, sweating, and muscle soreness.

Listening to music can inspire and entertain, but it also has powerful psychological effects that can improve your health and well-being. Instead of thinking of music as pure entertainment, consider some of the major mental benefits of incorporating music into your everyday life. You might find that you feel more motivated , happier, and relaxed as a result.

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Cui T, Xi J, Tang C, Song J, He J, Brytek-Matera A. The relationship between music and food intake: A systematic review and meta-analysis .  Nutrients . 2021;13(8):2571. doi:10.3390/nu13082571

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Souza AS, Leal Barbosa LC. Should we turn off the music? Music with lyrics interferes with cognitive tasks .  J Cogn . 2023;6(1):24. doi:10.5334/joc.273

Ludke KM, Ferreira F, Overy K. Singing can facilitate foreign language learning . Mem Cognit. 2014;42(1):41-52. doi:10.3758/s13421-013-0342-5

Garza-Villarreal EA, Wilson AD, Vase L, et al. Music reduces pain and increases functional mobility in fibromyalgia .  Front Psychol . 2014;5:90. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00090

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By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Does Playing Music Reduce Stress?

Show/hide words to know.

Enzyme: a protein that changes the speed of chemical reactions.

Hormone: a chemical message released by cells into the body that affects other cells in the body.

Immune system: all the cells, tissues, and organs involved in fighting infection or disease in the body...  more

Nervous system: organ system made of a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals to and from different parts of the body...  more

Stress: a feeling we have when reacting to a particular event. Examples of stressful situations include studying before a big test or when a basketball player has to take a shot that could win the game.

Stressor: an event or object that leads a person to feel stressed and experience a stress response.

What's in the Story?

Scientists were interested in how music affects stress levels. Image by Kashirin Nickolai.

Today is one of those days where nothing seems to be going right. You're frustrated and ready for the day to be over. When you get home, you put on your headphones and try to relax. You close your eyes and fill your mind with the twang of the guitar, the beats of the drums, and the cascading sounds of the piano keys. Sometimes all it takes is listening to soothing music to calm you down. Many people listen to music when they are trying to focus or relax, whether it’s hip hop, the twinkling sounds of wind chimes, or the background music in elevators.

In the PLOS ONE article  “The Effect of Music on the Human Stress Response,” scientists looked at how music affects the body’s response to stress. 

Stress: Wear and Tear on the Body

Taking a test can be stressful for many people. When you are stressed, your body responds by releasing hormones such as cortisol. Image by AlbertoQperello.

The big test is tomorrow, but you’ve barely had any time to study. With so much information to learn and bedtime at hand, you feel like you are doomed to fail. These sorts of situations often make people feel stressed out. When we feel something important to us, like a test grade, is being threatened, our body reacts with a stress response.

A stress response is your body’s way of preparing itself so that you can work hard and fix the problem that is causing you stress. Your nervous system releases hormones into your bloodstream to tell the body how to react. One of these hormones is cortisol.

Stress hormones like cortisol help prepare your body to run. Long ago, we needed to run in response to stressors like predators. Image by Garry Knight.

Cortisol is a hormone that is released during stress to help the body deal with whatever it is that is causing the stress. For example, it could tell the body to bring more energy to your muscles to help you run if necessary. Millions of years ago, running was something that people would have needed to do when they were stressed. Back then, stress didn’t come from tests or homework, but from the threat of fast predators.

Even though a stress response helps you to work hard and ace your test, it can also hurt you. Cortisol tells your body to send more fuel to your muscles, but that energy has to come from somewhere else in your body. Oftentimes, it will take that fuel from other areas of your body, like your immune system. If your immune system isn’t getting as much energy, you could become sick much more easily. Beyond that, if your body is constantly preparing to run, fight, or otherwise react to stress, it can wear you out and put you at higher risk for getting sick.

Music: A Source of Relaxation?

Too much stress can make it more likely for a person to get sick, and so scientists are trying to think of ways to keep people from being overly stressed. In this experiment, scientists studied the effect of music on stress.

Scientists asked subjects to give a speech as part of the Trier Social Stress Task. Image by BotMultichillT.

Scientists asked women to either listen to relaxing music, nature sounds, or to nothing. Following the music session, they had the women stand in front of an audience and perform two tasks. First, each woman had to give a speech. Second, each woman had to do complicated math in her head. These two tasks make up the Trier Social Stress Task, a method scientists use as a sure-fire way to make people feel stressed.

Scientists know that the body responds to stress by releasing cortisol, and so they used it as a way to measure stress. Scientists compared cortisol levels after listening to music and at various times after doing the Trier Social Stress Task. The scientists also measured an enzyme called alpha-amylase that is found in saliva. Alpha-amylase is important to your body as it kills unwanted bacteria and it helps break down the food that you eat. Alpha-amylase is also released by the nervous system in response to stress, though scientists still have a lot to learn about this process.

Nature’s Music

This graph shows the levels of alpha amylase in women listening to relaxing music (RM), rippling water (SW), or nothing (R). Click for more detail.

The scientists tested how classical music and nature sounds affect levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase.The alpha-amylase levels of people who listened to classical music went back to normal more quickly compared to the people listening to nature sounds. This suggests that relaxing music helps the body to return to a non-stressed state more quickly.

The people listening to relaxing music showed a stress response that was shorter compared to the other groups. The shorter response helps to prevent the body from getting worn out. This means that listening to relaxing music might help to improve the stress response and health.

Additionally, women that listened to music had higher levels of cortisol after stress than people who weren’t listening to anything. It was the people who listened to the nature sounds that had the lowest levels of cortisol. This means that listening to music during stress may not actually decrease stress. However, listening to nature sounds might do the trick.

Music and You

The results of this study were a bit mixed. Scientists still have a lot of work to do to see if listening to music can reduce stress by lowering cortisol levels in the body. They are also studying whether listening to music can improve health and prevent disease. Whether music of the subjects' choosing could mean more stress relief is also still unanswered.

Until we know more, maybe play some tunes or listen to some nature sounds when you feel stressed. Even if it doesn’t directly help your stress level, it’s still nice to hear a good song.

 Additional images via Wikimedia Commons. Headphones image by Cystokesre.

View Citation

Bibliographic details:.

• Article: Does Playing Music Reduce Stress?
• Author(s): Shannon L. Jewell
• Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
• Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
• Date published: June 13, 2014
• Date accessed: May 15, 2024
• Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/plosable/does-playing-music-reduce-stress

Shannon L. Jewell. (2014, June 13). Does Playing Music Reduce Stress?. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved May 15, 2024 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/plosable/does-playing-music-reduce-stress

Chicago Manual of Style

Shannon L. Jewell. "Does Playing Music Reduce Stress?". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 13 June, 2014. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/plosable/does-playing-music-reduce-stress

MLA 2017 Style

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Releasing stress through the power of music

Music can have a profound effect on both the emotions and the body. Faster music can make you feel more alert and concentrate better. Upbeat music can make you feel more optimistic and positive about life. A slower tempo can quiet your mind and relax your muscles, making you feel soothed while releasing the stress of the day. Music is effective for relaxation and stress management.

Research confirms these personal experiences with music. Current findings indicate that music around 60 beats per minute can cause the brain to synchronize with the beat causing alpha brainwaves (frequencies from 8 - 14 hertz or cycles per second). This alpha brainwave is what is present when we are relaxed and conscious. To induce sleep (a delta brainwave of 5 hertz), a person may need to devote at least 45 minutes, in a relaxed position, listening to calming music. Researchers at Stanford University have said that "listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication." They noted that music is something that almost anybody can access and makes it an easy stress reduction tool.

So what type of music reduces stress the best? A bit surprising is that Native American, Celtic, Indian stringed-instruments, drums, and flutes are very effective at relaxing the mind even when played moderately loud. Sounds of rain, thunder, and nature sounds may also be relaxing particularly when mixed with other music, such as light jazz, classical (the "largo" movement), and easy listening music. Since with music we are rarely told the beats per minute, how do you choose the relaxation music that is best for you? The answer partly rests with you: You must first like the music being played, and then it must relax you. You could start by simply exploring the music on this web page. Some may relax you, some may not. Forcing yourself to listen to relaxation music that irritates you can create tension, not reduce it. If that happens, try looking for alternatives on the internet or consult with Counseling Service staff for other musical suggestions. It is important to remember that quieting your mind does not mean you will automatically feel sleepy. It means your brain and body are relaxed, and with your new calm self, you can then function at your best in many activities.

Experiment now. Experience a "sound bath" and let the music carry you away

The links below each open relaxing musical selections in YouTube.

A Moment of Peace Meditation Aneal & Bradfield, "Heaven and Earth Spirits" track from Life & Love). Lovely contemporary piano music with accompanying instruments and nature scenes.

Echoes of Time C. Carlos Nakai from the Canyon Trilogy. Serene Native American flute music, with a picture of Nakai backlit by the sun at the Grand Canyon.

The Winding Path Ken Kern from The Winding Path. Highly rated, beautiful piano music with accompanying instruments with pictures of exquisite flowers and plants.

Classical Indian Music for Healing and Relaxing Gayatri Govindarajan, "Pure Deep Meditation" track. Lovely and rhythmic music played on the veena, the most ancient of the Indian plucked-instruments, with nature scenes.

Angels of Venice Angels of Venice from Music for Harp, Flute and Cello. Classical with 3 instruments with nature pictures.

Earth Drum "Spirit Vision," (David & Steve Gordon. Serene and lovely contemporary Native American informed-drumming music utilizing Taos Log Drum and Incan Pan along with other instruments and ocean/forest nature scenes.

Buddha Spirit Aneal & Bradfield from Light & Love. Reflective but strong contemporary music utilizing various instruments and occasional humming voices with colorful oscillating fractals

Spa Relaxing Music Tranquil contemporary instrumental with piano and a fixed candle light.

Relaxation Music: 1-Hour Meditation Candle Serene contemporary instrumental with piano and one flickering candle.

Sleep Deeply Dan Gibson. Nature sounds and instrumental, tranquil sleep music.

Weightless Marconi Union. The sounds on this video are carefully arranged harmonies, rhythms, and bass lines that help slow a listener's heart rate, reduce blood pressure, and lower levels of the cortisol stress hormone.

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Home Essay Samples Health Benefits of Listening to Music

How Music Can Reduce Stress: an Overview

Music can reduce stress, works cited.

• Calaprice, Alice. The Expanded Quotable Einstein. 1st ed., Princeton University Press, 2000, pp. 1-407.
• Collins, Anita. “How Playing an Instrument Benefits your Brain.” TED-Ed, TED, July 2014, www.ted.com/talks/anita_collins_how_playing_an_instrument_benefits_your_brain.
• Novotney, Amy. 'Music as medicine.' vol. 44, no. 10, Nov. 2013, pp. 46+. Accessed April 26, 2019.
• Rampton, John. 'The Benefits of Playing Music Help Your Brain More Than Any Other Activity.' Inc., 21 Aug. 2017, www.inc.com/john-rampton/the-benefits-of-playing- music-help-your-brain-more.html. Accessed April 26, 2019.
• Sapega, Sally. 'Playing an Instrument: Better for Your Brain than Just Listening.' Penn Medicine News, Penn Medicine’s Department of Communications, 30 Jan. 2017, www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-blog/2017/january/playing-an-instrument-better-for- your-brain-than-just-listening. Accessed April 26, 2019.
• Sharma, Sanjay. 'The Effect of Music on Human Health and Brain Growth.' Owlcation, 15 Dec. 2017, owlcation.com/social-sciences/The-Effect-of-Music-on-Human-Health-and-Brain- Growth. Accessed April 26, 2019.    

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How Music Can Be Mental Health Care

In music therapy, clients play and listen to music as treatment for stress, depression and anxiety. Here’s how it works.

By Christina Caron

The therapy session begins when Isobell, 17, picks up a guitar.

Her fingers, adorned with silver rings and black nail polish, are positioned to play the first chord of Lana Del Rey’s “Candy Necklace.”

Listen to This Article

Then she starts to sing, her voice a melancholy, breathy soprano that seems to float across the room.

White noise coming out of my brain Turns off for nothing

Isobell’s therapist, Caitlin Bell, accompanies her on the piano.

Although they are actually sitting in a medical clinic — the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai-Union Square in Manhattan — the space feels more like a musician’s living room, with sheet music on display and wooden bookcases that line the walls, each housing different instruments.

Music therapy, while still a relatively small field, has grown over the last decade . The practice helps people cope with ailments as wide-ranging as stress, chronic pain, limited mobility and hypertension, and is performed in a variety of settings, including psychiatric hospitals, outpatient clinics, senior centers and schools.

Scientific research has begun to explore why music appears to have such a strong effect on health and wellness, particularly mental health, where sounds can serve as a conduit to lift someone’s mood, help them reflect and reduce stress, anxiety and depression.

When she was 14, Isobell’s treatment for anxiety looked very different. At the time, she was seeing a psychiatrist. But after trying two different medications, she felt that they “weren’t really doing anything.” She was starting to feel discouraged, until her doctor — knowing that she loved to play the guitar and write songs — recommended that she try music therapy.

For the past two years, she has traveled to Mount Sinai nearly every week, despite her packed schedule as a senior at one of the most selective public high schools in New York City. Isobell, who asked to be referred to only by her first name to protect her privacy, no longer takes medication.

Singing creates space to release emotions that can be difficult to describe, she explained.

Even just listening to a song and interpreting the meaning “opens up so much in my mind,” she added. “I feel like I always draw a blank when people ask me, ‘What’s up? What’s going on?’” But music therapy helps her become more introspective.

Here’s a look at how music therapy is used as a psychotherapy tool.

How can music therapy improve mental health?

Research has shown that adding music therapy to a patient’s regular treatment, like medication and psychotherapy, can improve depressive symptoms when compared with standard treatment alone. Studies also indicate that music therapy can decrease anxiety levels and improve day-to-day functioning in people with depression. More studies are needed to better understand why, but scientists do know that music engages multiple regions of the brain , like the limbic system , which helps process emotions and recollections. This may be partly why music is known to bring back memories. Seeking to explore that connection, Amy Belfi, an associate professor at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, designed a study that compared the memories evoked by popular songs with those summoned by images of celebrities. She found that the music was much more likely to bring up vivid autobiographical details than the images.

“I think music is able to bring about these emotional responses that then also facilitate the memory retrieval,” Dr. Belfi said, which may explain why music therapy can help improve cognition and quality of life in people with dementia .

Different studies have found that music affects our bodies in other ways as well. Fast tempos can be arousing ; and slow or meditative music may help people relax .

In addition, both listening to music and singing can reduce levels of cortisol , a hormone that the body releases when it is under stress. And the pleasure we feel when listening to music can produce dopamine , a neurotransmitter that influences the reward centers in the brain.

Finally, because music therapy is so interactive — clients will often play instruments with their therapist or write lyrics together — it allows for self-expression both individually and in a communal setting, said Kenneth Aigen, the director of music therapy at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

Music has been a driving force throughout Dr. Aigen’s life — for the past 14 years, he has played keyboard in a Grateful Dead tribute band. He said he wants his clients to discover the power of communing and collaborating with other people through music, just as he has, either in group sessions or one-on-one meetings with a therapist.

“When you join with other human beings through music, there’s no other experience like it,” he said. “I think it completely changes how you think of yourself.”

For Kerry Devlin, a senior music therapist who works with critically ill patients at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, music is a therapeutic tool to share space with people during some of the worst moments of their lives.

A session can give patients a sense of autonomy and help them become “reconnected with their own humanity in what often feels like a really sterile and scary environment,” Ms. Devlin said.

When providing palliative care, for example, she uses a special stethoscope to record a patient’s heartbeat, then works with the person and sometimes also their family to select a meaningful song and add personalized lyrics or harmonies. “We use that person’s heartbeat as the rhythmic pulse,” she said. “This is a piece of their life, recorded forever and ever, which is such a gift.”

How did music therapy originate?

Music has created community and helped people achieve catharsis since ancient times, but music therapy did not become a profession until more recently. According to the American Music Therapy Association , the earliest known reference to music therapy appears in a magazine that was published in the late 1780s. It didn’t become an organized profession until much later in the mid-1900s. Today, there are about 10,000 providers who have become board-certified in music therapy. Some states may have additional requirements .

What are the misconceptions about music therapy?

When Ms. Devlin arrives for her sessions — a guitar strapped across her back, wheeling a cart full of instruments — some people assume that they need to be musically gifted or proficient at playing an instrument in order to participate.

But that’s not the case.

“We might wail on a drum together or we might give them something that really vibrates and provides a grounding sensation to help them connect with their body and their breath,” she said. “There isn’t such a thing as a wrong note.”

Others prefer to listen to music rather than create it. It’s up to the patient to decide what feels right.

Another myth about music therapy is that the providers function as entertainers. While music can be fun, a music therapist is not performing for an audience but rather using therapeutic techniques to help their clients meet goals, express their emotions and share their creativity.

Where do you find a music therapist?

Email or call the A.M.T.A. or search its online directory for music therapists in your area. Insurance companies often do not include music therapists in their panel of providers, however, you may be able to get reimbursed for some of your out-of-network costs.

Ms. Devlin also suggested searching online for resources in your area. The music therapy offered by Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, for example, is free of charge, including the support groups.

Audio produced by Sarah Diamond .

Audio produced by Sarah Diamond

An earlier version of this article misstated the location where Isobell receives music therapy at the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine. She is seen at Mount Sinai-Union Square, not Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

How we handle corrections

Christina Caron is a reporter for the Well section, covering mental health and the intersection of culture and health care. Previously, she was a parenting reporter, general assignment reporter and copy editor at The Times. More about Christina Caron

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How Do Music Activities Affect Health and Well-Being? A Scoping Review of Studies Examining Psychosocial Mechanisms

Genevieve a. dingle.

1 UQ Music, Dance and Health Research Group, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

2 School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia

Leah S. Sharman

3 School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Emma Beckman

Mary broughton.

4 School of Music, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Emma Bunzli

Robert davidson, grace draper, sheranne fairley.

5 University of Queensland Business School, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Callyn Farrell

Libby maree flynn, sjaan gomersall.

6 School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia

Mengxun Hong

Joel larwood, chiying lee, jennifer lee, lewis nitschinsk, natalie peluso, sarah elizabeth reedman.

7 Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Dianna Vidas

Zoe c. walter, olivia renee louise wright, associated data.

Background: This scoping review analyzed research about how music activities may affect participants' health and well-being. Primary outcomes were measures of health (including symptoms and health behaviors) and well-being. Secondary measures included a range of psychosocial processes such as arousal, mood, social connection, physical activation or relaxation, cognitive functions, and identity. Diverse music activities were considered: receptive and intentional music listening; sharing music; instrument playing; group singing; lyrics and rapping; movement and dance; and songwriting, composition, and improvisation.

Methods: Nine databases were searched with terms related to the eight music activities and the psychosocial variables of interest. Sixty-three papers met selection criteria, representing 6,975 participants of all ages, nationalities, and contexts.

Results: Receptive and intentional music listening were found to reduce pain through changes in physiological arousal in some studies but not others. Shared music listening (e.g., concerts or radio programs) enhanced social connections and mood in older adults and in hospital patients. Music listening and carer singing decreased agitation and improved posture, movement, and well-being of people with dementia. Group singing supported cognitive health and well-being of older adults and those with mental health problems, lung disease, stroke, and dementia through its effects on cognitive functions, mood, and social connections. Playing a musical instrument was associated with improved cognitive health and well-being in school students, older adults, and people with mild brain injuries via effects on motor, cognitive and social processes. Dance and movement with music programs were associated with improved health and well-being in people with dementia, women with postnatal depression, and sedentary women with obesity through various cognitive, physical, and social processes. Rapping, songwriting, and composition helped the well-being of marginalized people through effects on social and cultural inclusion and connection, self-esteem and empowerment.

Discussion: Music activities offer a rich and underutilized resource for health and well-being to participants of diverse ages, backgrounds, and settings. The review provides preliminary evidence that particular music activities may be recommended for specific psychosocial purposes and for specific health conditions.

“ Music tells us things – social things, psychological things, physical things about how we feel and perceive our bodies – in a way that other art forms can't” – David Byrne (2012), How Music Works, p. 101.

The body of research on music, health and well-being has developed rapidly in the past decade, yielding dozens of empirical studies, reviews (Daykin et al., 2018 ; Sheppard and Broughton, 2020 ), books (MacDonald et al., 2012 ; Bonde and Theorell, 2018 ), and journals such as the Journal of Music, Health and Well-being, The Arts in Psychotherapy , and Arts and Health . This work has been summarized in ground-breaking reports such as the UK All Party Parliamentary report on creative health (Gordon-Nesbitt and Howarth, 2020 ) and the scoping review of the role of the arts in improving health and well-being published by the World Health Organization (Fancourt and Finn, 2019 ). Despite rapid advances in the field, however, there remain some limitations in the literature which this review seeks to address. First, the term “music” has been used to refer to a range of activities, which are at times poorly defined (Kreutz, 2015 ). Consider the following examples: personalized music listening for pain management in people with fibromyalgia (Linnemann et al., 2015 ); group singing for adults with chronic mental health conditions (Williams et al., 2019 ); a hip-hop project for sexual health promotion in Indigenous school students (McEwan et al., 2013 ); and dance for Parkinson's (Shanahan et al., 2015 ). All four are examples of music and health projects yet these activities clearly engage distinct physical, social, and psychological processes to achieve improvements in participants' health and well-being. We need to better articulate what type of music activity we are referring to in studies of “music,” and to examine the evidence in relation to the health and well-being effects of specific music activities.

Secondly, research in the music, health and well-being field is often prone to risks of bias arising from methodological issues such as convenience sampling, small sample sizes, lack of control or comparison conditions, and lack of independent assessment (Dingle et al., 2019 ; Clift, 2020 ). For these reasons, we will adopt a simple measure of research quality based on guidelines from the British Psychological Society QMiP Guidance for qualitative psychologists (Qualitative Methods in Psychology REF Working Group, 2018 ) and the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 guidelines (Sterne et al., 2019 ) for quantitative methods (see Methods section) to ensure that research with a level of quality informs the conclusions of this review.

Third, it is largely unclear how such music activities affect health and well-being. That is, what are the processes through which these effects are achieved? It may be the case that different music activities exert their effects through distinct processes. For example, dance for Parkinson's may improve participants' well-being through its effects on gait and synchronized movement whereas music listening for pain management might exert its effect through dampening physiological arousal or providing a distraction. The answers to this important question will help health professionals to make recommendations to individuals and their loved ones about whether a music activity or intervention is likely to help them to manage their health symptoms. Research into the biological mechanisms linking music activities with health and well-being outcomes has been summarized recently. Finn and Fancourt ( 2018 ) reviewed 44 studies that involved adults listening to music in clinical and non-clinical settings reported that 13 of 33 biomarkers tested (such as cortisol, blood glucose and immune system measures) were reported to change in response to listening to music, indicating a stress-reducing effect (Finn and Fancourt, 2018 ). Group singing in low stress conditions such as rehearsals is associated with decreased cortisol while singing in high-stress conditions such as performances has been related to increased cortisol levels (Beck et al., 2000 ; Schladt et al., 2017 ). Similarly, group drumming has been associated with a modulation of immune response (Fancourt et al., 2016 ). Given this existing evidence regarding the biological mechanisms, in this scoping review we will focus instead on the psychological (e.g., emotional, cognitive, behavioral, motor) and social (e.g., bonding, inclusion, identity, cultural) processes that might explain the health and well-being effects of music activities.

In planning the scoping review, we searched for a comprehensive theoretical model that would account for a spectrum of musical activities and health and well-being outcomes, through a range of psychosocial processes. Unfortunately, the field of music, health and well-being lacks a widely established and comprehensive framework (Dingle et al., 2019 ). Our conceptualization is aligned with the contextual model by Kreutz ( 2015 ) showing the beneficial effects of musical activities on well-being and quality of life. According to this model, engagement in a musical activity provides individuals with a new context in which to interact and the combination of individual and contextual variables evoke self-regulatory processes at conscious and/or subconscious levels. Examples of such processes shown in the model include modifying cognitions, emotions, and actions by strengthened self-regulation. The consequences are often an improvement of psychological well-being and other positive outcomes (Kreutz, 2015 ). The boundaries of how this works (to what degree, for how long, and for whom) remain unclear and subject to ongoing hypothesis-driven research.

We also drew variables from three other models in developing search terms for the review. The first was the Therapeutic Music Capacities Model (Brancatisano et al., 2020 ) which links individual properties of music to “therapeutic mechanisms,” leading to cognitive, psychosocial, behavioral, and motor benefits. Some of the therapeutic mechanisms specified in the TMCM are conceptually relevant to populations with neurological disorders for whom the model was developed but are rarely assessed as part of music intervention research (e.g., neuroplasticity, mirror neuron systems, auditory motor coupling, and neural entrainment). We adopted other mechanisms that are more commonly assessed in music research as some of our search terms, such as arousal, mood, and memory. Another model that informed the review is the BRECVEMA model (Juslin et al., 2010 ) which describes eight mechanisms by which music listening influences emotional responses, in addition to cognitive appraisal. BRECVEMA is an acronym for Brain stem reflex, Rhythmic entrainment, Evaluative conditioning, Contagion, Visual imagery, Episodic memory, Musical expectancy, and Aesthetic judgement. This model is most suitable for experimental music listening research, however, it can be argued that some of these mechanisms apply to other music activities (e.g., rhythmic entrainment may occur as part of instrumental music playing, dance, and rapping). A third model that has been applied to health interventions in groups is the social identity approach (Tajfel and Turner, 1986 ; Turner et al., 1987 ; Jetten et al., 2014 ). According to this model, to the extent that participants identify with their group, they may access psychological resources from the group such as support, meaning, control and self-esteem. This model has been shown to explain the health and well-being effects of group singing (Williams et al., 2019 ; Dingle et al., 2020 ; Tarrant et al., 2021 ) and other music activities such as dance and instrumental music groups (Kyprianides and Easterbrook, 2020 ; Draper and Dingle, 2021 ). From this model, we drew social connection, self-esteem, and identity as processes.

The scoping review was conducted by an interdisciplinary group of academics and students from the Schools of Psychology, Music, Human Movements and Nutrition, Physiotherapy, Business, and hospital based Clinical Research Centers at the University of Queensland during February to December 2020. We formed into small working parties of two to four people, each focusing on one of the eight music activity categories. Reliability was established by two or more members of each working group screening the same 50 abstracts in their category and meeting to ensure that the selection criteria were applied consistently. Following this, the remainder of abstracts were divided up among group members for screening. This process resulted in too many papers for inclusion in the full review, so the authors agreed to re-screen the “included” abstracts by applying our quality criteria to exclude all but the best quality research in each category. Importantly, studies in which the intervention was clearly music therapy or a form of psychotherapy were not included, as these bodies of research have been reviewed elsewhere. The literature search was conducted using nine search engines: CINAHL, Embase, Music Periodicals, PsycInfo, PsycNET, PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science. Search terms are available from the corresponding author on request. Inclusion criteria were that the papers report on empirical research (not reviews or theoretical papers), published in the English language, involving adult participants, and reporting on a health or well-being measure as well as one or more psychological or social process measures that we refer to as “mechanisms” (note that the authors of the studies did not necessarily regard their study design in this way). For quantitative studies, the following criteria were applied:

• a. The study used psychometrically validated measures of a health or well-being outcome and at least one process variable.
• b. The study had at least 20 participants per condition 1 .
• c. If a control or comparison condition was included, allocation of participants to conditions was randomized or a check was done to ensure that the two subgroups were comparable at the start of the study.
• d. Assessors were independent of the people delivering the music activity (to avoid demand characteristics on participants' responses).

For studies using qualitative methods, the following quality checks were applied:

• e. A description and explanation for the type of analysis was given.
• f. There was independence between the facilitators of the music program and those collecting and analyzing the data (or involvement of an independent coder in the analysis).

Overview of the Studies

The number of papers at each stage of the scoping review are shown in Table 1 . Detailed descriptions of the participants, design and intervention, process measures, health or well-being outcomes, and a summary of the results of each study are presented in Supplementary Table 1 . As would be expected, the health and well-being outcomes varied across the musical activity categories. In the receptive music listening studies, pain and indicators of post-operative recovery were common outcomes. In the studies of intentional music listening, pain was again a common outcome, as well as health behaviors such as exercise, symptom checklists and measures of well-being, health related quality of life, and patient satisfaction. In the music sharing studies, outcomes included pain, fatigue, agitated and aggressive behavior, quality of life, and well-being. The instrument playing studies reported health outcomes including cognitive health in older adults, health behaviors, social determinants of health (housing stability and criminal behavior), and well-being. In studies of group singing, the outcomes included mental and physical health, cognitive health, well-being, and quality of life. Studies of movement and dance reported outcomes for cognitive health, healthy weight, mental health, and quality of life. Studies of lyrics and rapping reported outcomes such as mental health and cognitive health. Finally, the studies of music composition, songwriting and improvisation included outcomes such as well-being and cultural determinants of health.

Flow of decisions about papers through the abstract screening, quality screening, and full text review process.

Process measures included arousal, emotion or mood, cognitive measures (e.g., memory, attention), self-esteem/achievement, physical activation, social connection, and identity. Most of the studies in the receptive music listening category and some of the intentional music listening studies reported on psychophysiological measures of arousal, such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and skin conductance. Although these could be viewed as biological measures (which was not the focus of the review or search terms), they are also commonly used in experimental psychological research as indicators of emotional arousal. For this reason, we kept these studies in the review. A summary of the process variables supported by the literature in each musical activity category is presented in Table 2 and explored in further detail in the following sections.

Summary of available evidence about the psychosocial mechanisms by which music activities affect health and well-being.

Key: +, studies reviewed showed positive evidence; +/–, some studies reviewed showed positive evidence some studies found no evidence; –, studies reviewed found no evidence; blank means the studies reviewed did not measure this .

Receptive Music Listening

There is some conceptual overlap between receptive music listening and intentional music listening (next section). We divided studies into the two categories based on the idea that receptive music listening involved participants being in places where music is playing but they were not involved in the music selection process whereas intentional music listening involved some degree of participant engagement in the choice of music they listened to. Among the receptive listening studies, there were 1,922 abstracts screened, 78 selected for full-text review, of which 11 met the criteria for inclusion (see Table 1 ). Nine studies were conducted in a medical setting and investigated the effects of music listening before, during, or after a medical procedure. These included dental procedures, elective surgery, and breast biopsy. Two studies examined the impact of background music on patients with severe dementia (Götell et al., 2002 ; Gotell et al., 2009 ). Methods of receptive listening generally utilized assorted ‘background music’ that was played for participants. These were described as instrumental or classical (Calcaterra et al., 2014 ; Franzoi et al., 2016 ; Kipnis et al., 2016 ; Seinfeld et al., 2016 ; Çetinkaya et al., 2018 ), new age (Kipnis et al., 2016 ; Téllez et al., 2016 ), relaxing (Twiss et al., 2006 ; Nilsson, 2009 ), or participant selected music (Twiss et al., 2006 ).

Across the studies in medical settings, health outcomes primarily focused on pain, recovery from operations, and patient satisfaction. The mechanism of these effects appeared to be the reduced levels of anxiety, distress, and increased relaxation among patients listening to background music compared to the control groups, who were generally in silence. Reductions to pain were less clear among children in one study where there were some age-based differences in pain reports, where older children showed more pain amelioration (Calcaterra et al., 2014 ). This may also have been due to older children being better able to understand the pain scale. In the two studies of older adults with dementia, both publications reported from the same study observing nine patients and carers undertaking a morning routine over three conditions: usual morning care, morning care with familiar background music, and caregiver singing. Results found that background music was related to patient functioning, well-being and decreased aggressive behaviors through its effects on physical activation, increased bodily and on sensory awareness, and a strengthened ability to carry out daily living tasks. Patients showed more agency and playfulness in their interactions with their carers, demonstrating improved social connection and interactions.

Intentional Music Listening

Following screening of 1,226 abstracts, 12 studies met the inclusion criteria for the review of intentional music listening research (described in Table 1 ). Methods of intentional listening across all studies utilized either researcher provided music and/or participant preferred music during the music listening interventions. Intervention lengths varied for each study and ranged from a single session of music listening (e.g., Särkämö et al., 2008 ) to 6 months (e.g., Clark et al., 2016 ). The way in which music listening was applied as an intervention was also mixed with some research emphasizing music listening during periods where participants were undergoing treatment or experiencing symptoms (O'Callaghan et al., 2012 ; Mercadíe et al., 2015 ), during recovery from health procedures (Särkämö et al., 2008 ; Drzymalski et al., 2017 ), or during specific daily activities, such as walking or relaxing (Clark et al., 2016 ; Helsing et al., 2016 ).

Health outcomes included pain, fatigue, health behaviors such as exercise, symptom checklists and measures of well-being, health related quality of life, and patient satisfaction. Music listening appeared to produce such outcomes through its effect on emotions regulation where several studies reported a reduction in feelings of distress, including specific measures of depression, anxiety, stress (Särkämö et al., 2008 ; Helsing et al., 2016 ; Sorensen et al., 2019 ); greater feelings of relaxation and nostalgia (Clark et al., 2016 ; Helsing et al., 2016 ; Kulibert et al., 2019 ; Sorensen et al., 2019 ); improved mood and reduced agitation (Clark et al., 2016 ; Ihara et al., 2019 ) (see Supplementary Table 1 ). The duration of these effects is difficult to ascertain due to the varying lengths of follow up across measures and studies. However, one study found that reduced levels of anxiety and pain were sustained for at least 12 h after music listening (Fernando et al., 2019 ). Several of these studies reported positive emotional effects of music listening compared to a control (no music listening group). However, two studies compared music listening with other active sound or meditation conditions and neither found differences between active conditions (Mercadíe et al., 2015 ; Sorensen et al., 2019 ). These studies lacked a no-music control condition, making it difficult to form robust conclusions about the efficacy of intentional music listening in these studies. Similarly, a study of 169 young people with at least mild psychological distress using a music and emotion regulation mobile phone app showed no differences on emotion regulation, distress, or well-being between the music listening and the waitlist group at 1 month follow up (Hides et al., 2019 ).

Cognitive mechanisms measured in the intentional music listening studies included measures of attention and verbal memory among stroke patients, which were better amongst music listeners compared to those who listened to audiobooks or controls (Särkämö et al., 2008 ) (see Supplementary Table 1 ). Another study took behavioral observations of music recognition and ability to follow rhythm among people with dementia (Ihara et al., 2019 ). Evidence for physical activation was limited to two studies. One used behavioral observations of people with dementia (Ihara et al., 2019 ) and revealed that intentional music listening increased expressions of joy, eye contact, eye movement, engagement, talkativeness, and moving/dancing. Similarly, a study of participants with cardiac disease (Clark et al., 2016 ) reported that listening to music while walking made them feel more energized and the music tempo influenced them to walk faster or maintain an enhanced pace, motivated them to move and some found it helped them to walk for longer periods.

Sharing Music

1,478 abstracts were reviewed with only five studies about music sharing meeting the inclusion criteria for full review. Only one study did not use live music, instead utilizing scheduled Radio programs to initiate music sharing across people's homes (Travers and Bartlett, 2011 ). These studies tended to report outcomes on well-being, quality of life, pain and agitated behavior. The processes by which shared music listening appears to achieve these outcomes was through emotion, cognition (memory), physical activation (synchrony), social connection, and a sense of identity (see Table 2 ). The strongest results were for improved mood and/or emotions, which were found to improve for shared music listening across all studies. Improved social interaction and communication also appeared to show consistent effects, which were particularly marked among participants with dementia, though less so for those with more severe dementia (van der Vleuten et al., 2012 ; Clements-Cortés, 2017 ; Shibazaki and Marshall, 2017 ; Toccafondi et al., 2018 ). As part of this, sharing music stimulated participants' memories and facilitated reminiscing and storytelling that were shared with musicians, staff, and family members. In contrast, music sharing through community radio programming found no changes to loneliness among this shared listening group, likely indicating that less social interaction was facilitated (Travers and Bartlett, 2011 ). These results imply that there is something unique about sharing music when in the physical presence of others.

Synchronized movement and physical activation increased during live music sharing alongside the ability to remember, cognitively perceive, and anticipate auditory musical elements (Clements-Cortés, 2017 ; Shibazaki and Marshall, 2017 ). Participants were reported to be clapping, singing, and generally moving to the music. Shibazaki and Marshall ( 2017 ) noted that these physical responses were even evident for people with mobility issues and among those who had suffered strokes. Finally, for people with dementia, even when dementia was advanced, carers and researchers observed clear cognitive effects while sharing music, such as participants being able to predict, anticipate, and expect different musical patterns and changes (Shibazaki and Marshall, 2017 ).

Instrumental Music

From 1,701 abstracts screened, nine studies of instrumental learning and playing met selection criteria for full review. These focused on health and well-being outcomes from musical instrument playing, such as cognitive health in older adults, health behaviors, social determinants of health (housing stability and criminal behavior), and well-being. Instrument playing was associated with these outcomes via its effects on cognitive, mood, and/or social processes (see Supplementary Table 1 and Table 2 ). Collectively, the research found that playing an instrument resulted in several positive outcomes, including improved mental health and quality of life and well-being (Perkins and Williamon, 2014 ; Seinfeld et al., 2016 ). Music instrument learning also resulted in improved enthusiasm, happiness, relaxation, and tolerance of uncertainty among people with learning disabilities (Wilson and MacDonald, 2019 ). Being part of a band or music group improved perceptions of social support and actual participation in social activities, interpersonal communication, self-esteem, and self-confidence among long-term musicians (Knapp and Silva, 2019 ), new musicians (Perkins and Williamon, 2014 ) and people with learning difficulties (Wilson and MacDonald, 2019 ). This latter study found that people who were socially isolated were more difficult to engage in music groups, with participants reporting lower levels of confidence and self-esteem (Wilson and MacDonald, 2019 ). Self-efficacy scores among children learning a musical instrument were also higher among those learning compared to those not learning an instrument, with this effect higher for girls, compared to boys (Ritchie and Williamon, 2011 ). This self-efficacy was related to greater levels of well-being and higher pro-sociality, with self-efficacy heightened particularly for girls.

Physical activation was found to be related to self-efficacy among children, where self-efficacy for music learning was associated with less hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, and behavioral problems (Ritchie and Williamon, 2011 ). Among older adults with higher SES, those learning to play a musical instrument reported a greater increase in the frequency of behaviors promoting physical activity and spiritual growth than older adults in the comparison condition (a U3A shared learning project) (Perkins and Williamon, 2014 ). Cognitive mechanisms were measured across several studies and found that for older adults, playing instruments was related to improvements in cognitive processing speed and attention, verbal fluency, executive function, visual scanning, and motor ability (Bugos et al., 2007 ; Bugos and Kochar, 2017 ), as well as letter fluency, learning, and short-term memory (Mansens et al., 2018 ). One study used fMRI in people with mild traumatic brain injuries following 8 weeks of piano lessons and found that there was a change to activation of the medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) (Vik et al., 2018 ). The OFC network regulates higher order cognitive processing, such as executive functions, including attention, decision-making, impulse control, and social behavior.

Group Singing

A total of 1,455 abstracts were identified in the initial search from which 14 studies met selection criteria for the full review, including six qualitative and eight quantitative studies (see Table 1 ). Prominent outcomes included mental health and well-being, cognitive health, and lung health. Group singing appeared to produce these health and well-being effects through the social, emotional and physical processes. Choral rehearsals have been found to increase feelings of social inclusion and connection over the duration of a singing rehearsal (see Supplementary Table 1 ). Studies involving both small and large group choirs of up to 232 members found that singing fosters social closeness, even in large contexts where individuals are not known to each other (Weinstein et al., 2016 ). Even after a single session of singing, a large group of unfamiliar individuals can become bonded to the same level as those who are familiar to each other within that group. These social inclusion effects are particularly important for various marginalized groups. For instance, 50 minority African Canadian women living in Nova Scotia identified choir singing and listening to spiritual music as spiritual activities that helped protect against the psychological effects of racism (Beagan and Etowa, 2011 ). The women described how singing supported their physical and mental health through a spiritual connection with the Lord and through their cultural connection with the African Christian community. In another study, women from nine different nationalities living in the UK who experienced postnatal depression participated in a 10-week singing group and reported that the sessions provided an authentic, social and multicultural creative experience (Perkins et al., 2018 ). Two Australian studies involving adults who were marginalized due to chronic mental and physical health problems described how choir singing helped them to develop social connections within the choir (Williams et al., 2019 ) and later with audiences (Dingle et al., 2013 ). Furthermore, a reduction in loneliness and an increased interest in life was reported by an ethnically and racially diverse group of seniors participating in a Community of Voices choir in San Francisco (Johnson et al., 2020 ).

Cognitive, social, and mood effects of group singing are prominent in older adult studies (Lamont et al., 2018 ). For example, in retirement village residents in Australia, those who attended an 8-session group music program called Live Wires showed significantly improved cognitive performance and identification with the retirement village compared with the control group (Dingle et al., 2020 ). Similarly, in the Singing for the Brain project in the UK, interviews with 20 people with dementia and their care givers indicated that important mechanisms were cognitive (accepting the diagnosis, positive impact on memory), social (a shared experience, feeling included and supported), and improved mood (Osman et al., 2016 ). Similarly a study in Finland assessed people with dementia and their caregivers before and after a 10-week program of either singing or music listening together, designed to coach the caregivers to incorporate music and singing into their dementia care (Särkämö et al., 2014 ). Music listening temporarily improved overall cognition, attention and executive function, and a longer-term improvement in orientation, while singing enhanced short-term and working memory. Music listening had a long-term positive effect on Quality of Life for both the patients and caregivers.

In terms of physical mechanisms, participants of the Sing for Lung Health choir described improvements in breathing, sputum clearance and exercise tolerance, as well as a general sense of improved well-being. Again, social connections and a shared purpose were key mechanisms, as well as physical activation (McNaughton et al., 2017 ). This 12-week program featured deep breathing, vocalization exercises and singing rounds of familiar songs.

A sense of achievement and a new identity as a member of a choir were mechanisms revealed in several studies (Dingle et al., 2013 ; Perkins et al., 2018 ; Williams et al., 2020 ), particularly during performances (McNaughton et al., 2017 ). Singing, however, is not necessarily better than other arts-based group activities in terms of health and well-being effects. A study 135 adults involved in seven different adult education classes in singing, creative writing and crafts found that mental and physical health, and satisfaction with life, improved in all groups (Pearce et al., 2016 ). In the study with marginalized adults, mental well-being improved for members of both a choir and a creative writing group as long as participants formed a sense of identity with their group (Williams et al., 2019 ).

Music, Movement, and Dance

This search retrieved 743 articles of which four studies met criteria for full review. The health outcomes measured differed widely across the four studies. These included improved measures of cognitive health in the participants with mild cognitive impairment (Doi et al., 2017 ); healthy weight measures (BMI and % body fat) of African American women (Murrock and Gary, 2010 ); improved cognitive health among stroke survivors (Jeong and Kim, 2007 ); and mental health of new mothers (Vlismas et al., 2013 ).

While social connection was acknowledged as an important process across most of these studies, only two measured types of social connection. Interventions were found to improve the quality of interpersonal relationships for stroke survivors compared to people who did not participate in movement interventions (Jeong and Kim, 2007 ), and to improve interactions between mothers and their infants (Vlismas et al., 2013 ). Specifically, mothers felt that they enjoyed interactions with their infants more and reported increases in dyadic reciprocity between them. Similarly, physical activation, while acknowledged as a driving mechanism, was only measured in two studies. For African American women, participating in a dance group meant that they were more physically active than those not participating in dance (Murrock and Gary, 2010 ). However, for adults with mild cognitive impairment, there was no difference in physical activity levels whether they were part of the dance group, playing instruments, or in a health education group. For one study, cultural identity was made salient for the participants, where African American women reported that the dance intervention and choreography incorporated the importance of their church, spirituality, values, and beliefs and provided a positive space for them to talk about their health concerns (Murrock and Gary, 2010 ).

Lyrics and Rapping

From 1978 abstracts reviewed, four articles focusing on rapping or other lyric-focused music activities met our inclusion criteria. The outcomes from these included mental health, well-being, and cognitive health. The effects of lyrics and rapping appeared to act on emotional and social processes, self-esteem and identity (see Supplementary Table 1 and Table 2 ). For instance, for children and adolescents, sung or spoken lyrics (including rap), resulted in improvements to measures of emotional well-being on the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (Uhlig et al., 2019 ) and teacher-rated emotional symptoms, empowerment, and fewer depressive symptoms (Travis and Bowman, 2012 ). Further, those least likely to report depressive symptoms were those who felt rap music inspired them to better connect with others, consider the experiences of others, and want to make a difference in their communities. Young people listening to rap and hip-hop showed that their sense of cultural identity was associated with music-based empowerment (Travis and Bowman, 2012 ), and physically engaging in rap and song among children influenced their levels of physical activation (Uhlig et al., 2019 ). This included reductions in hyperactivity and inattention, and improved goal-directed behavior (Uhlig et al., 2016 ). Sleep time also showed changes among this group those in the rap and sing group slept significantly more than children who did not participate in this program.

A study in university students found that exposure to lyrics related to suicide were associated with remembering more nihilistic lyrics than were present in the song (Peterson et al., 2008 ). However, after exposure to this music, many participants responded with stories that exhibited altruistic themes. Higher endorsement of lyrical messages around risk (e.g., violence, substance use, and derogatory treatment of women) was related to high self-esteem among young males (Travis and Bowman, 2012 ). For people with Alzheimer's disease and healthy older adults, memory was positively affected when they were exposed to lyrics that were spoken or sung (Simmons-Stern et al., 2012 ). For these older adults, both types of exposure to lyrics resulted in equal memory of a songs content.

Song Writing, Composition, and Improvisation

This search retrieved 1,280 articles, of which only three studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. Music composition was found to be an important tool for supporting healthy aging and well-being of older adults learning to compose music collaboratively with a string quartet and a professional composer. For these participants, composition also created more opportunities for creativity and feelings of control and self-efficacy (Habron et al., 2013 ) (see Supplementary Table 1 ). In the study by Bartleet et al. ( 2016 ), jamming and music making between Aboriginal and non-Indigenous musicians provided opportunities to develop deep, transformative, intercultural engagement and connection. For these groups, music making was a way to cross boundaries using music as a shared language and to understand and share in diverse experiences. Music students found that the simple act of jamming helped to build a strong rapport, sense of mutual respect, and life-long friendships. Identity making and relationships were very clear among the group-based song writing and composition studies. For example, older adults felt composition led to self and social identity making, and meaningful social engagement with other participants and musicians with some relationships enduring after the program ended (Habron et al., 2013 ).

In Fallon and colleagues' experimental study (2020), 105 university students were asked to complete a stressful task and were then randomly assigned to one of three recovery conditions: control, music listening, or music improvisation using a xylophone. The physiological measure (electrodermal activity) showed greater stress reduction during recovery for those in the music listening condition compared to the improvisation and control groups (Fallon et al., 2020 ). The improvisation group showed a significant improvement in self-reported levels of calmness, irritation (decrease), and satisfaction during the recovery phase.

This scoping review of 63 studies revealed that all eight categories of music activities demonstrated some benefits to health or well-being, although it is difficult to make generalized statements due to the diversity of study designs and measures across studies. An abundance of studies of music listening, group singing, and instrument playing met criteria for inclusion, but relatively few focused on music sharing, dance or movement to music, lyrics or rapping, or songwriting, improvisation and composition. As the descriptions in Table 1 indicate, some music activities featured in more than one category (e.g., music listening was involved to some extent in all eight types of activity, apart from some kinds of lyrics/rapping), while other activities were found in only one or two categories (e.g., movements to music were a key part of the movement and dance category, while movements to create music were characteristic of the instrument playing, group singing, and songwriting, composition, and improvisation category). The eight activities also represent a spectrum of engagement with the selection and creation of music, from very low levels in the case of receptive music listening through to very high levels in the case of songwriting, composition, and improvisation. The purpose of the music activity and the measures assessed in each study reflected this spectrum of engagement. By considering this full spectrum of music activities, the current review extends on previous reviews that had a narrower focus such as music listening (Finn and Fancourt, 2018 ), group singing (Williams et al., 2018 ), or instrument playing and dance (Sheppard and Broughton, 2020 ). It also highlights the need for future research in the field of music, health and well-being to clearly articulate the type of music activity under investigation (Kreutz, 2015 ).

In regard to the mechanisms by which these music activities produce effects on health or well-being, Table 2 summarizes the evidence drawn from the 63 papers reviewed. Receptive music listening tended to be used in health or medical spaces for the purpose of decreasing perceptions of pain and anxiety and for acute post-operative recovery, or in aged care settings for increased activation and improved mood among older adults with dementia. Many of these studies showed that decreased physiological arousal was a key mechanism by which music listening was related to effects on pain and anxiety. The most consistent results were lowered blood pressure, increase in oxytocin, and decrease in cortisol during music listening. Interestingly, music listening was associated with increased arousal, activation , and social interaction in the studies of people with dementia and their carers (Götell et al., 2002 ; Gotell et al., 2009 ). Of the 13 studies in this category, four measured pain outcomes, and three of these reported lower pain in the music condition (Calcaterra et al., 2014 ; Téllez et al., 2016 ; Çetinkaya et al., 2018 ) while one study did not find any effect of music listening on pain (Chantawong and Charoenkwan, 2017 ). It is possible that in this study, the researchers' selection of Western or New Age instrumental music did not align with the Thai women's personal preferences during the cervical excision procedure. These findings align with an earlier review showing how music listening can enhance medical treatments and can be used as an adjunct to other pain-management programs (Bernatzky et al., 2011 ). This review concluded that musical pieces chosen by the patient are typically more effective for pain management than music chosen by a staff member. Interestingly, a recent study found that the music people chose to manage pain was commonly high energy, danceable music with lyrics (Howlin and Rooney, 2020 ) so it should not be assumed that people select soft, slow tempo, instrumental music when in pain.

Positive effects on mood or emotion regulation were reported in studies across all music activity categories ( Supplementary Table 1 ). In the music listening categories, reductions in anxiety were commonly reported. These positive effects on anxiety and pain were not confined to music listening since comparison conditions also produced benefits. For example, a comparison hypnosis condition was associated with decreased anxiety and increased optimism in women undergoing breast tissue biopsy in a hospital clinic (Téllez et al., 2016 ) while silent relaxation was as effective as music listening for lowering cortisol and pain in knee replacement surgery patients (Finlay et al., 2016 ). Similarly, the 14 studies on intentional music listening commonly focused on the role of music in reducing distress, particularly in preparation for, during, or recovery from, significant health events. These studies revealed that actively listening to music showed effects on cognition, emotion, physical activation, and physiological arousal . These findings are consistent with an established body of research on music listening and affective responses on the two dimensions of arousal and valence (e.g., Juslin et al., 2010 ; Eerola and Vuoskoski, 2013 ). The mood enhancing effects of group music activities such as singing, dancing and instrument playing is consistent with the findings of a systematic review of the effects of social group programs (music groups and others) on depression (Dingle et al., 2021 ) and an earlier longitudinal study of 5,055 UK older adults showing that more group memberships measured in the first wave was associated with a decreased likelihood of depression up to 4 years later (Cruwys et al., 2013 ).

Enhanced social bonding and connection was found in studies across many of the music activity categories. For example, shared music listening in the form of live music concerts enhanced social connections and mood in older adults and in hospital patients, yet was featured in few studies, which suggests this is an underutilized approach within aged care and hospital services. Group singing was associated with health and well-being of older adults and those with mental health problems, lung disease, stroke, and dementia through its effects on cognitive functions, mood, social connections, and identity. Both music listening and carer singing decreased agitation and improved posture, movement, and well-being of people with dementia. These findings indicate that singing is not only beneficial for the identified patients but also for their caregivers and loved ones (Forbes, 2020 ). Social and cultural identity was another mechanism highlighted in relation to some music activities. The finding that identification with a music group is associated with the satisfaction of various psychological needs has been noted in several recent studies (Williams et al., 2019 ; Kyprianides and Easterbrook, 2020 ; Draper and Dingle, 2021 ). Singing, dancing, and hip-hop can help ethnic minority group members to connect with their culture (Murrock and Gary, 2010 ; Beagan and Etowa, 2011 ; Travis and Bowman, 2012 ).

Cognitive mechanisms such as improved memory or attention were noted in several music activity categories. For instance, group singing was associated with improved cognitive health in older adults and those with dementia. Learning to play a musical instrument was associated with cognitive performance, self-esteem, and well-being in diverse populations including school students, older adults, and people with mild brain injuries. Dance and movement with music programs were associated with improved health and well-being in people with dementia, women with postnatal depression, and sedentary women with obesity through various cognitive, physical, and social processes. Clinicians and care workers planning to introduce a musical activity to enhance the cognitive health of their participants should consider the level of musical training and capability of new learners. It may be necessary to develop innovative ways for participants to engage with music that do not require an ability to read sheet music or to have a high level of fine motor skill. Group singing can be conducted using lyric sheets and a call-and-response style for learning the various vocal parts, as has been used successfully with marginalized adults (Dingle et al., 2013 ; Williams et al., 2019 ). Furthermore, innovative work is in progress adapting musical instruments so that they are simpler for older adults to create music with (MacRitchie and Milne, 2017 ).

Finally, self-esteem, empowerment, and sense of achievement were mechanisms by which rapping, choir singing, musical instrument playing, and composition, songwriting and improvisation produced positive effects on the health and well-being of participants. Rapping, songwriting and composition helped marginalized people to find their voice and increased social inclusion, intercultural connections, and empowerment.

Although the field of music, health and well-being requires further development, there is emerging evidence that specific music activities may be recommended for specific psychosocial purposes and for specific health conditions. Music activities offer a rich and underutilized resource for health and well-being to participants of diverse ages, backgrounds, and settings.

Author Contributions

GD designed the scoping review and led the write up. LS generated the search terms, conducted the library searches, assisted with the tabulation of results, and the write up. All authors contributed to the screening, reviewing, and summarizing of papers in their sections and contributed to the final manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

1 This was based on power calculations showing that a sample of 24 is required for a within subjects (pre-post design) ANOVA to find a small effect size with a power of 0.8; while a total sample of 34 (17–18 in each condition) is required for a two-group comparison ANOVA with two assessment points to find a small effect size with a power of 0.8. Our guideline of 20 per condition was chosen to balance the pragmatics of fitting groups of people into halls and spaces where music activities typically take place with the need to design studies with sufficient power to detect an effect if one existed.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.713818/full#supplementary-material

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How Music Can Reduce Stress in College Students

How it works

Our study questions whether the type of music listened to and the content of videos watched by college students affect their stress levels in a significant way. We chose to focus on college students because they are generally a stressed group of individuals. In order to find an answer to our question, we used a 2×2 experimental design and had college students watch 33-second videos of either sand being cut or puppies playing and had music playing in the background that was either classical or rap.

After watching and listening to the clip, they took a standardized stress test that was five questions and then some demographic questions to get their age, ethnicity, and gender. After running SPSS, we found that there was no main effect such that the content of the videos and the genre of music did not affect the stress levels of college students. There was also no significant interaction between the two independent variables, video content, and music genre. If we could run this experiment differently, we would broaden the age range of participants and possibly conduct the experiment in a lab setting where we could actually bring in puppies and live music. Another option would be to administer a stress test pretest before showing the videos and then do a posttest to see if their answers changed.

Our hypothesis was that participants who watched the puppy video with the classical music playing would have lower stress levels than those who watched the puppy video with rap and the sand video with either music genre. One of the studies that led us to choose to conduct this study was one that showed that videos, especially ones that are funny or have meaning, do, in fact, reduce stress in the workplace Janicke, Rieger, Reinecke, and Connor (2017). A second study that led us to conduct the experiment was one that proved that relaxing and slower music was more effective at reducing stress and anxiety than upbeat music, such as rap, by Ditzen, B., Doerr, J. M., Linnemann, A., Nater, U. M., and Strahler, J. (2015). We chose these hypotheses as they reflected what we personally would predict to happen. All of us are really connected to animals, especially to dogs, since all of us have at least one at home, and so we wondered how pet therapy and, more specifically, puppies would affect other peoples’ levels of stress. As a second “modern” way to cope with stress, we decided to use satisfying videos that are becoming more and more famous on social media and that appear to be very appealing and successful. People are always on social media at all times, but in particular during their “downtime,” so it would be interesting to see if these videos that they are watching actually do release some stress. Moreover, we decided to explore music as a stress reliever, too, as we are aware that many people from our age group, including us, listen to music very frequently during our daily life. We chose to hypothesize that puppies and classical music will have a more efficient outcome as a stress reliever than rap music, especially with satisfying videos, because we believe that puppies are going to evoke more positive emotions than satisfying videos and that classical music will be more relaxing than rap, in both levels of the first IV.

The first study that led us to pick videos rather than pictures was “Watching Online Videos at Work: the role of positive and meaningful affect for the recovery experiences and well-being at the workplace” (Janicke, S., Rieger, D., Reinecke, L., & Connor, W. 2017) This study showed that videos, especially when funny and meaningful actually do release stress in a workplace, and so in order to make our experiment more effective it seemed that videos would elicit a higher change in stress then pictures. Lastly, we hypothesized that classical music would be a better stress reliever than rap, according to the study done by de la Torre-Luque, A., Caparros-Gonzalez, R. A., Bastard, T., Vico, F. J., & Buela-Casal, G. (2017) on “Acute stress recovery through listening to Melomics relaxing music: A randomized controlled trial” music that was more relaxing and had a slower tempo and low pitch is more appropriate at reducing stress and anxiety.

College students have high-stress levels in general because of all the stress they are put under with classes, extracurriculars, internships, and also homesickness and adapting to a new environment. Researchers have been trying to find ways to decrease the stress that college students have to deal with. Recent studies have found that the presence of animals on campus has had great effects on stress levels. Research shows that the presence of animals causes changes in psychological and physiological states in the body, which include increased positive affect, lowered anxiety and depression, fewer feelings of loneliness, reduction of stress, and a decrease in blood pressure (Aydin, Fischer, Fischer, Frey, Hahn, Kastenmuller, & Krueger, 2012). The previous research we found basically explains that people are happier and healthier when animals are present.

Since we could not bring dogs on campus to conduct our study, we wanted to see if videos of puppies would have a similar effect. The Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors Annual Survey (Reetz, Krylowicz, Bershad, Lawrence, & Mistler, 2016) lists students’ top presenting concerns as anxiety, depression, relationship concerns, suicidal ideation, self-injury, and alcohol abuse. An average of 26.1% of students seeking services report taking psychotropic medications (Reetz et al., 2016). When entering college, many students think that the workload that comes along with taking college courses will be the most stressful part of their adjustment and transition to the college world. However, few students consider that they will likely experience feelings of loneliness and separation that they from being away from home.

• 1 Sampling Procedure
• 2 Quantitative Measures
• 5 Discussion
• 6 Conclusion
• 7 References

Sampling Procedure

This study used a 2×2 factorial design to investigate the effect different music genres, puppies, and satisfying videos have on the stress levels of college students. The two Independent variables were music genres and type of video. The two levels of music genres were rap and classical music, and the two levels of video type were puppy videos and satisfying videos (magic-sand being cut).

The dependent variable was the stress levels of the participants. The study was a between-subject design, so the participants were only exposed to one of the four conditions. After being exposed to one of the conditions, the participants were then asked to fill out a brief stress test and some demographic questions. Sample

The participants were college students primarily from Chapman University, but there were also students from other universities. We have 110 participants, with 90% being female and 10% being male. The age of the participants ranges from 18-21, and the majority of the participants are white. However, there is also a significant proportion of Asian participants. Although we have 110 participants, not all participants have completed the survey properly, so we expect to have at least another 40, bringing the total to 150. This will hopefully allow us to have more diversity in participants, especially when it comes to gender and ethnicity. Although Chapman does have a predominantly white and female student body having more participants complete our survey should bring in some more male and ethnically diverse participants.

Quantitative Measures

The variables we manipulated were music, and we did this by adding to the videos either classical or rap music in the background and stress-releasing videos, and we did it by either showing puppy videos or satisfying videos.

The four conditions were: classical music with puppies, rap music with puppies, classical music with a satisfying video, and rap music with a satisfying video. In the first condition, we showed a 33-second clip of a group of golden retriever puppies playing with Ludwig Van Beethoven – Per Elisa playing in the background. In the second condition, we showed the same 33-second clip of golden retriever puppies playing, but this time with Mockingbird by Eminem playing in the background. In the third condition, we showed a 33-second clip of purple magic sand being sliced up with a knife slowly with Ludwig Van Beethoven – Per Elisa playing in the background. Lastly, in the fourth clip, we showed the same 33-second clip of purple magic sand being sliced up with a knife slowly, but this time with Mockingbird by Eminem playing in the background. The same 33-second part of Mockingbird and Per Elisa was played in the two video clips.

We measured stress levels using an adapted version of the perceived stress test scale by Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein,1983). We adapted it by using only 4 questions, and instead of asking how they felt over a span of a month, we shortened it to during the test. For example, instead of asking, “In the last month, how often have you felt that things are going your way?” we asked, “During the test, how often have you felt that things were going your way?”. We did this as we wanted to know if the videos were the reason for their stress levels and not some other third variable. We also changed the scoring so that instead of it going from 0 – 4 (never to very often), it went from 1-4 (never to very often). We decided to use the perceived stress test scale -4, as we knew it had validity and reliability. At the end of our survey, we asked three demographic questions: the age of the participants, the gender of the participants, and the ethnicity of the participants.

a. Gender i. Male: N = 20 (21.7%) ii. Female: N = 72 (78.3%) b. Race/Ethnicity i. African American: N = 5 (5.4%) ii. Asian: N = 15 (16.3%) iii. Hispanic: N = 0 iv. Native American: N = 0 v. Pacific Islander: N = 0 vi. White/Caucasian: N = 57 (37.5%) vii. Multiracial: N = 0 viii. Other: N = 15 (16.3%) c. Age i. Mean = 20.07 ii. SD = 1.463 d. IV i. N in Condition 1 (puppies and classical music) = 27 ii. N in Condition 2 (sand and classical music) = 20 iii. N in Condition 3 (rap and puppies) = 20 iv. N in Condition 4 (rap and sand) = 25 v. Total N =92 e. DV i. Mean = 2.564 ii. SD = .072 f. Main Effect of IV1: video content i. F-value: F = 1.009 ii. p-value: p = .318 iii. Brief interpretation — There is no main effect (p0.05) of video content on stress level such that the F-value is smaller than 4; therefore, there is no significant difference between puppies and sand. g. Main Effect of IV2: Music i. F-value: F = .014 ii. p-value: p = .906 iii. Brief interpretation — There is no main effect of music type on stress level (p0.05) such that the F-value is smaller than 4; therefore, there is no significant difference between classical and rap. h. Interaction between IV1 and IV2: i. F-value: F = .078 ii. p-value: p = .781 iii. Brief interpretation: There is no interaction between video content and music on stress level (p0.05 and F i. Support or not support the hypothesis?

Our results do not support our hypothesis: we did not find any main effects nor an interaction between our IVs (video content and music type) and our DV (stress level). This means that the type of video content or music that the participants are given has no effect on reducing their stress levels. Therefore, our original hypothesis is not supported by our study’s results.

We decided to conduct this study because we think that examining different types of stress relievers is necessary to improve the stress levels of college students. Our group chose to see if certain types of video content and music would be helpful in finding these innovative ways for college students to release stress. Since the videos we chose have been proven to lower stress, we assumed that when paired with classical music instead of rap, college students would experience a significant decrease in their levels of stress. We hypothesized that the video of the Golden Retriever puppies, when paired with classical music, would be more successful than the sand video paired with any music and the video of the puppies with rap playing in the background. We hypothesized this because of past psychological research. In the end, our hypothesis was not supported by the results of our experiment. We instead found that our results showed that stress levels are not affected by video content and music genre.

A study that was done by Torre-Luque et al. (2017) initially led us to believe that classical music would be more effective at reducing levels of stress than rap music would be. This article states that music that is more relaxing and has a slower tempo would be more appropriate than rap music for reducing stress. This is another issue we ran into with our research as we chose a song that had a different pitch than more common rap music. In order to fix this issue, we could have picked a more aggressive rap song that contained a faster tempo and higher pitch than the song we did choose.

We were unable to control the effects of the third variable because we could not control what setting participants took the survey in. This is an important improvement that could be made as we do not know if some participants were dealing with more stressful settings while doing the survey, which could have affected their answers. In order to reach college students, our group distributed it around midterm season via social media: Facebook pages affiliated with Chapman and text messages. We chose to distribute this survey over the midterm season because we assumed that the stress levels of participants would be higher than usual because they would be stressed with studying.

An example of how the setting that someone took the survey in could affect their levels of stress is if the participant completed the survey in an environment where people are arguing, they would be subject to higher stress levels than those who are in a quiet setting. We believe that this issue could have been eliminated by inducing a stressful manipulation at the start of the survey, such as showing a video of a bad car crash before the videos of the puppies or sand. We also regret not including a pretest that would collect the general level of stress of the person taking the survey before even beginning the actual survey because it would have given us better control over third variables. A third way to control the setting that we could come up with was to complete the study in a lab in order to use staged manipulation instead of straightforward. If conducted in a lab, we could have brought in puppies for participants to play with and sand for those who find the videos so relaxing that they want to try them themselves.

As for the demographics of our study, our survey participants were mainly white females, which is a very select group of individuals that does not offer much diversity. Due to this lack of diversity, the external validity of our study did not turn out to be very strong. In order to counteract this lack of external validity, our study could be replicated later using a conceptual replication design. In order to broaden the number of participants we received, we could also send the survey out to students at other schools, which would help us see if there is an actual correlation.

In the end, we feel that our study, although lacking significant results, could be used to elaborate on future studies. We hope this study will help in finding new ways to reduce stress levels because it is a very serious and important issue that needs more healthy alternatives for reducing stress. Since stress can cause serious problems for some, it is so important to continuously examine and look for new methods of relieving stress and improving mental states.

• Aydin, N., Fischer, J., P., Frey, D., Hahn, D., Kastenmüller, A., Krueger, J. I. (2012). “Man’s best friend:” How the presence of a dog reduces mental distress after social exclusion. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(1), 446-449. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.09.011
• Backels, K., House, L. A., Neal, C. (2018). A Doggone Way to Reduce Stress: An Animal Assisted Intervention with College Students. College Student Journal, 52(2), 199–204. Retrieved from http://libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=s3h&AN=130164999&site=eds-live
• Bastard, T., Buela-Casal, G., Caparros-Gonzalez, R. A., de la Torre-Luque, A., Vico, F. J. (2017). Acute stress recovery through listening to metallomics relaxing music: A randomized controlled trial. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 26(2), 124–141. https://doi-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/10.1080/08098131.2015.1131186
• Bershad, Krylowicz, Lawrence, Mistler, Reetz, (2016). Social Media as an Avenue to Achieving Sense of Belonging Among College Students. American Counseling Association. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/vistas/social-media-as-an-avenue.pdf?sfvrsn=f684492c_8
• Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(4), 385-396. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2136404
• Connor, W., III, Janicke, S., Reinecke, L., Rieger, D. (2017). Watching Online Videos At Work: The Role of Positive and Meaningful Affect for Recovery Experiences and Well-Being at the Workplace. Retrieved from http://libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=ir00622a&AN=cudc.comm.articles.1050&site=eds-live
• Ditzen, B., Doerr, J. M., Linnemann, A., Nater, U. M., Strahler, J. (2015). Music listening is a means of stress reduction in daily life. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 60, 82–90. https://doi-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.06.008

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How Music Can Reduce Stress in College Students. (2023, Jun 18). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/how-music-can-reduce-stress-in-college-students/

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PapersOwl.com. (2023). How Music Can Reduce Stress in College Students . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/how-music-can-reduce-stress-in-college-students/ [Accessed: 15-May-2024]

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