How Music Affects Your Mood

When you're really annoyed, mad, or just in a bad mood, a little music is just what the doctor ordered. Music reduces the hormones that cause stress and increases the ones that make you happy.

Reviewed and approved by the psychologist Bernardo Peña.

Written by Yamila Papa Pintor

Last update: 09 October, 2022

Did you know that music affects your mood? You probably already guessed it. After all, music relaxes you, takes away your troubles, makes you dance, and encourages you to sing at the top of your lungs. It tells a story and allows you to forget the past.

We need music more than we think. After all, music can change your mood in an instant and make a gray day explode with color.

How Music Affects Your Mood

People have known about the positive effects of listening to music for many years. Even back in the times of the great philosophers, they would sing praises to relieve stress. Certain songs or hymns were used in war to inspire soldiers’ courage and confidence. Nowadays, sporting events play music to work up the crowds. The same thing happens in schools: kids learn their numbers and the alphabet through song.

Even stores play music to encourage you to buy more, and restaurants play music to get you to eat more. It works in dentist’s offices to help patients feel better, and in elevators to keep you from being bored.

Because of all of this and more, we know that music affects your mood positively. It also makes you more confident and less fearful.

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It doesn’t matter the style

It’s true that everyone has their own tastes in music, but there are certain “universal” styles that have remarkable effects when it comes to music and mood.

The tunes your mother sang to you in the womb, the melodies you heard as a baby, or the songs you associate with a pleasant experience are universally enjoyed by everyone.

When you hear certain pieces of music, your anxiety levels, stress, and worries can go down due to its calming powers. We’re not just talking about classical music or meditation, but also about love songs or R&B, etc.

Certain sounds have an extraordinary ability to reduce negative emotions. While some rhythms are “set up” better for relaxation, any style can be used as therapy.

Since music affects your mood, you can use it in any situation and at any time. Some may need to hear fast songs to feel better, while others feel better with slower songs.

Music, focus, and sleep

When you were in school, your teachers probably sang certain songs to help you remember things: colors, animals, countries, etc. Relating information with a song helps you remember facts better. It’s also a fun way to learn!

In addition, some sounds can greatly help patients with certain illnesses like cancer and multiple sclerosis. They can also help people recuperating from surgery, an accident, etc.

When people are depressed and sad, it’s harder to handle their pain. For them, music can work like a charm.

At the same time, listening to particular songs before going to bed can encourage a more restful, complete sleep.

If you have trouble sleeping, make a playlist of relaxing songs and listen to it in bed. Keep your eyes closed and breathe slowly. Sleep will soon overtake you and you’ll sleep like a baby all night long.

As for getting up in the morning, some people like calm, relaxing music to offset the stress of the day to come. Others like fast music to really wake them up and get going right away. Choose your favorite!

When you’re really annoyed, mad, or just in a bad mood, a little music is just what the doctor ordered. Music reduces the hormones that cause stress and increases the ones that make you happy.

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It’s just a matter of picking the songs that work for you.

Even if you’re a fan of rock or electronic music, you should also listen to other styles, like classical, jazz, or blues to calm your nerves and heart rate.

The effect of music on your brain

The sounds you’re exposed to every day influence your mind.

When it comes to music you like, your body releases dopamine. This hormone is also secreted when you’re doing something you enjoy.

When you hear a song you love, different parts of your brain activate. For example, certain songs “light up” the area responsible for emotional responses such as the visual cortex and the motor cortex. Depending the rhythm of the song, the frontal cortex and left parietal lobe, as well as the right cerebellum, are more awake.

With time and repetition, music can work for:

• Learning languages and fostering creativity.
• Treating neurological illnesses like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and autism.
• Treating certain emotional disorders like anxiety, sadness, low self-esteem, etc.

So what are you waiting for?Now that you know how music affects your mood, put on your favorite song and enjoy!