VOKASI NEWS – Positive Effects of Music on Mental and Emotional Health.
Music is an art that involves the use of sound in a series of tones, rhythms, and harmonies to create artistic expression. Music has been an integral part of human life since ancient times. We listen to music while relaxing, celebrating, hanging out with friends, or even in moments of solitude. Apart from entertainment, it turns out that music also significantly impacts our mental and emotional health.
The purpose of listening to music can be entertainment, and some studies show that music can even make you healthier. Music can be a source of pleasure and fulfillment, but there are many other psychological benefits as well. Music can calm the mind, energize the body, and even help people cope better with pain.
According to verywellmind.com, there are many benefits of listening to music that you need to know, including in addition to being entertaining, a source of pleasure, and satisfaction, calming the mind, and improving mood and energy, among others:
Music Can Improve Cognitive Performance
Research shows that when we listen to music while focusing on other activities, such as thinking tasks, music can help improve the thinking abilities of older adults. For example, listening to upbeat music can make thinking faster, while music that has different rhythms can help improve memory.
So, if you want to boost your brain’s performance while doing tasks, try listening to music in the background. It’s even better if you choose instrumental music rather than something with lyrics, so it’s less distracting.
Music Can Reduce Stress
It has long been known that music can help reduce stress or help us cope with stress. Just look at the trend of meditative music created specifically to calm the mind and help us relax.
In a 2013 study, participants underwent three different conditions before facing a stressful situation and were then tested with a psychosocial stress situation. Some participants listened to soothing music, others listened to the sound of gurgling water, and some listened to nothing at all. The results showed that music has a positive impact on the human stress response, especially on the autonomic nervous system. Those who listened to music tended to recover faster after experiencing stressful situations.
Music Can Help Manage Pain
Studies have shown that music has a very positive impact on reducing pain. For example, in a study on fibromyalgia patients, it was found that those who listened to music for just one hour a day experienced a considerable reduction in pain compared to the group that did not listen to music. Over the four weeks of the study, participants who regularly listened to music also reported a significant reduction in feelings of pain and depression. This suggests that music therapy could be an important tool in the treatment of chronic pain.
A 2015 study also underscored the positive benefits of music in managing pain. Patients who listened to music before, during, or after surgery reported lower levels of pain and anxiety than those who did not listen to music. In fact, patients who listened to music before surgery also required a smaller amount of pain medication. Also, although the difference was not statistically significant, there was a slightly greater improvement in pain management when patients were able to choose music according to their own taste.
Music Can Help You Sleep Better
Sleeplessness, also known as insomnia, is a serious problem that can plague people of all ages. However, there is evidence that listening to soothing classical music can be a cheap, safe and effective solution to this problem.
In a study involving university students, participants were given the option to listen to classical music, audiobooks, or nothing before bed for three weeks. The results showed that participants who listened to music had significantly better sleep quality compared to those who listened to audiobooks or received no intervention at all.
Music Can Improve Mood
Music can make us happier, and this is also supported by scientific research. In a study on why people listen to music, researchers found that music plays an important role in influencing our feelings and moods. People recognized music helping them feel better and more aware of themselves as two of the main benefits.
Another study showed that we can try to feel happier by deliberately listening to positive music every day for two weeks. Participants in this study were given the task of deliberately trying to improve their mood by listening to positive music. After two weeks, those who made this effort reported feeling happier. Others who simply listened to music without any special effort did not feel the same increase in their happiness.
In a world full of stress and anxiety, music is one of the most powerful tools we have to maintain our mental and emotional health. Through its positive effects on the production of happiness hormones, its ability to relieve stress and anxiety, and its ability to increase focus and productivity, music is a loyal friend that we can rely on. So, feel free to turn on your favorite music when you feel stressed, or use music as a tool to improve your overall quality of life. It is one of the most enjoyable and easy ways to take care of your mental and emotional health. In closing, remember that music is a universal gift that we can all enjoy, and it can bring harmony into our lives, one note at a time.
Writer: Willy Naufal Fawwaz
Editor: Muhammad Duiqi Alfiansyah – Branding Team Faculty of Vocational Studies
