Find your good mood music
This article is one of a series written for Qwell, an organisation that provides mental health and wellbeing support.
There’s no question that music can affect the way we feel. That moment when you hear a favourite song and your spirit soars. From the first few notes, there’s a feeling of anticipation and you just can’t stop a smile from spreading across your face.
But what’s music actually doing to your brain when that happens, and how might you harness the power of music to support your mental health? We take a closer look.
A cocktail of hormones
When music floats its way into our brain, it releases a cocktail of feel-good hormones.
Researchers from McGill University in Montreal discovered that listening to music triggers dopamine, a chemical that makes us feel happy and excited. And the more we like the music we’re listening to, the greater the dopamine hit.
Music also stimulates serotonin, a hormone that helps to stabilise our mood, enhance our feelings of wellbeing and make us feel happy.
Mindfulness on tap
Music doesn’t simply make us feel happier, though. It can help to lift our mood in a variety of ways.
“The most important way that listening to music can help support our mental health and wellbeing is to quickly and powerfully reset our thoughts and mood, taking us to a different place,” says Anita Holford, Co-Editor of Music Education Works, which investigates the impact of music.
“At times of anxiety or stress, suitably chosen music can calm your nervous system and your perception of the world. It’s mindfulness on tap,” she says.
You might want to try listening to binaural beats – an effect created in the brain when two different frequencies are played at the same time. They’re said to produce a calming, meditative effect that lowers stress, especially if they’re combined with a guided meditation. Search for ‘binaural beats app’ and you’ll find a host of different apps to support relaxation, meditation, focus and sleep.
Boost your motivation
If you feel the need to be powered up, rather than calmed down, music can help you too. “When you feel tired and lack motivation, upbeat music can increase your heart rate which in turn affects your mood and your ‘get up and go’,” says Anita. “There is a great deal of research that backs this up.
“And although there’s no definitive or long-term tracking study that proves it once and for all, the cumulative results show a strong correlation between music and positive mental health.”
Playing sets off fireworks
If simply listening to music can make us feel better, how about playing music? Is that good for our mental health too?
Anita confirms that it is. “Making music can help deepen the benefits for your mental health and wellbeing,” she says.
“When you play music, as Australian educator and researcher Anita Collins said in her TED Talk, scientists have found that it’s like fireworks going off in the brain, because music connects and activates so many different parts. No other activity has been found to do this.
“In a sense, it’s exercise for the brain because it works our motor, visual and auditory cortex. That’s a powerful form of focused attention which quickly places your mind in a flow state.”
Three factors that support wellbeing
Beyond the brain fireworks, making and learning music also supports your wellbeing in three other important ways, as it helps you to feel:
- Autonomy – feeling in control
- Competence– feeling good at something
- Relatedness – feeling connected to others.
We all have musical potential
If you love the idea of playing an instrument, but don’t actually play anything at the moment, what can you do?
The first step is to get over the idea that you might not be able to make music yourself. Anita tackles this myth, saying: “In the past, children in school tended to be labelled as either ‘musical’ or ‘not musical’, and that’s just not true. All humans are musical, it’s deeply rooted in our evolution as a species, and we all have the potential to be able to be musical – either by singing or playing other people’s music, or making our own.
“I would encourage anyone who enjoys music to find a way to make music themselves if they feel even a little bit inclined to do so.”
Join a choir
“Joining a choir is probably the simplest way to enjoy music, and you have the added advantage of taking part in a group activity, which has further overlapping social and emotional benefits,” says Anita. “Nowadays there are choirs to suit all types of musical tastes. In my community choir, we’ve been working on songs by Blur, The White Stripes, David Bowie and Joni Mitchell, as well as some traditional African songs.”
If you’re really worried you can’t hit a note, why not join a ‘Can’t Sing’ choir? There are several around the country and they all welcome people who have been put off singing for one reason or another. As the Can’t Sing Choir in North Tyneside puts it: “Just because you think you can’t sing, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t.”
Try out an instrument
Playing an instrument is one of the best ways to take your mind off your day and lose yourself in another world. It takes focus and concentration, so all the time you’re focusing on your instrument, you’re not thinking about other anxieties that may be playing on your mind.
Anita recommends: “You could buy an instrument that appeals to you and sign up to an online course or follow some free YouTube videos initially. There are all sorts of individuals and organisations offering online music lessons. Even a few lessons to give you the basics will get you started and help you to explore the kind of music you like.”
Make your own music
Technology has also made it incredibly easy to create your own music. “There’s plenty of advice online,” says Anita. “If you have an Apple Mac computer, Garage Band is a good place to start. Otherwise look for ‘Digital Audio Workstations’ or DAWs – there are many free versions available.”
Be inspired
We hope this article has inspired you to join a choir, try out an instrument or just blast out some of your favourite tunes. As Anita says, all humans are innately musical and the potential benefits of music for your mental health are clear. Music isn’t just about entertainment; it could be the key to finding more joy in your life and a greater sense of wellbeing.
Published on Qwell
This article was originally published by one of my clients, Qwell, who provide mental health and wellbeing support online. See the Qwell site and discover more about my work for Qwell.
- Read other wellbeing articles I’ve written for Qwell.
- Hear about a harp and creative writing workshop I ran for the East End WI.
- Discover my work with music clients.