“Without music, life would be a mistake,” the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote. As early as the 19th century he seems to have guessed what a few sounds can do to us. Today we know from numerous studies that music can make us happier and healthier, but also more aggressive and sad. The effect songs have on us always depends on our experiences and individual preferences.
When it comes to reducing stress and anxiety, however, British researchers from Mindlab International want to have found a song that all listeners can agree on: “Weightless” by the band “Marconi Union” from Manchester. The eight-minute instrumental piece is said to be able to reduce our stress level by up to 65 percent.
According to study leader David Lewis-Hodgson, the song is so relaxing that some participants almost fell asleep while listening to it. In addition, depressive symptoms were alleviated and the blood pressure of the subjects fell by an average of 35 percent. The song more than served its purpose. Together with the “British Academy of Sound Therapy”, the band wanted to develop a melody with “Weightless” in order to reduce the release of the stress hormone cortisol.
Music has the power to heal wounds – physical as well as mental. This is also shown by a study by the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main. The researchers surveyed people from six countries on three continents about their music behavior during the coronavirus pandemic. The result: more than half of the respondents used music to cope with emotional and social stress.
The interesting thing about it: Depending on the initial situation, the study participants showed different listening habits. Anyone who had to deal with negative feelings or depression due to the pandemic tried to regulate them through music. People who had more positive feelings compensated for their lack of social contact with music.
You may know this yourself: When we’re in a good mood, we turn up the music and want to feel alive; when we are sad, a happy song can bring us out of the deep. A melancholic song, on the other hand, could, in the worst case, drive us even further into the darkness.
The hormones that we release when listening to music are to blame. For example, if we listen to heavy metal or a fast electronic beat, we get a little adrenaline rush. Among other things, this makes us more excited and adventurous, and the stress level increases. With rather calm and gentle sounds, exactly the opposite happens: the body pours out noradrenaline. This has two consequences: the stress hormone cortisol decreases and the amount of beta-endorphins in the body increases – which in turn has a pain-relieving effect.
However, this enormous impact of music on our body has less to do with magic than one or the other music lover would like to admit. Rather, we were born with our sense of rhythm. We all felt our first beat in the womb: Mom’s heartbeat. Our hearing is one of our most sensitive senses. Therefore, the advice to listen to good music when pregnant is not far-fetched.
But how does music work then? What we hear is immediately passed on to our limbic system, which is responsible for our behavior. That’s why we sway when a good song plays on the radio, or get goosebumps when a singer’s voice touches us. Due to the close connection between hearing and feeling, melodies can have very different effects on us. A few examples of how music influences our lives:
Music helps us to remember: As soon as a sentence gets a rhythm, we can remember it more easily – this has now been proven by several studies.
Music welds us together: When we listen to music together with other people, our body releases the bonding hormone oxytocin. This ensures that we feel even closer to our concert accompaniment afterwards.
Music gives us an energy boost: Admittedly, not every genre can make us more active, but electronic music in particular is ideal for this. So if you’re looking for that extra kick of motivation in sports, you should try dance music.
Music can make you aggressive: Hectic sounds in particular can really upset us to the point of aggression. This is an effect that is mainly observed in connection with an action-packed film.
Music can manipulate us: let’s stay with the film. Of course, many directors take advantage of the power of music and build it in to subconsciously affect us as we watch. Often we don’t even hear the sounds properly – but they work. A stylistic device that is also often used by politics and business.
Music makes us happy: All in all, music has far more positive than negative effects on us. Especially songs with which we associate good memories can always lead to happy flashbacks when listening.
By the way: The researchers from “Mindlab International” have created a playlist with ten songs that are proven to help us relax. And of course we don’t want to withhold the songs from you:
Source: “Mindlab International”, study; Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, study; Book: “Good Vibrations: The Healing Power of Music
