Humans are complex creatures. There are many different factors that go into how a person’s mind develops and how their moods are influenced. Outside forces are continuously affecting individuals’ daily lives. How people live their lives depend on mood and emotion. Mood is a temporary state of mind or feeling while emotion is a conscious mental reaction. Our moods have a large influence on our ability to complete tasks correctly and efficiently. Changing our moods and emotions can be easily done by listening to music. Music is everywhere; in stores, on buses, at restaurants, etc. Music is often considered a background event that doesn’t lead to any individual impact besides personal enjoyment. Although music is not just for enjoyment, it can be used as a tool for promoting mental well-being. Music therapy is the next step in combating emotional issues. Stress and anxiety are little things that have a large impact on a person’s life. The future society needs to consider the positive influence that music has on people’s moods and emotions. That music can enhance human’s capabilities. Listening to music is beneficial in decreasing individuals’ levels of anxiety, stress, and depression. 

Anxiety is essentially the feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, about an upcoming event or outcome. Anxiety levels are steadily rising in current society and through music there might be a way to lessen the anxiety that most individuals feel every day. Individuals’ anxious emotions are measurable through physiological traits like blood pressure and heart rate. Through these measures we can see the effect music has on people’s anxious moods. The diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder is increasing each year and hinders individuals’ well-being. Another common cause of anxiety is testing. High school and college students are the age group that suffers the most from testing anxiety. For such a common issue, there is not a definite way to work through it other than powering through. Although there’s music studies done that suggest listening to calming music could be the new way in decreasing people’s testing anxiety. The music can create a calming atmosphere to help relax the mind (Fitzpatrick). A study at Texas State University showed that individuals with testing anxiety had physiological changes in blood pressure and heart rate while listening to calming music (Lilley, Jennifer L., et al). The three researchers from the department of Psychology at Texas State University decided to test whether music did have an impact on anxiety. The study measures these physiological changes in participants to show that the anxiety they felt lessened after listening to music. They used information gathered from the blood pressure and heart rate of participants before and after listening to the music. The study had two separate groups, one that studied in silence right before they took the test and then another that listened to music while studying before they took the test. Comparing the groups before and after results showed that the participants that listened to music right before had both lower levels of blood pressure and heart rate. The problem this conclusion is that students cannot use it to their advantage because of strict school rules. Phones and headphones aren’t allowed in the classroom which impacts a student’s ability to relax and focus better. With the results of this Texas study, it could spark further research into music and testing anxiety. Further research may then be able to change schools’ rules on headphones which would benefit students’ well-being emotional and academically. 

While testing anxiety is more of a temporary emotion, there’s also anxiety which is a nervous disorder that can be accompanied by compulsive behavior or panic attacks. The two have the same type of symptoms although at different severities. The Texas State study results on more temporary anxiety could prove helpful in treating severe disorders of anxiety. The study looks at a mild form of anxiety but that does not mean the results cannot be transferable to more severe cases. The conclusion of the study is that music listening lessens the physical traits of anxiety. For individuals with an anxiety disorder, music listening may not completely rid them of their anxiety although it could lessen the symptoms enough for them to be able to function in daily life.  Medical professionals could use the results from the Texas State study to create a long-term treatment plan for patients with anxiety disorders. It is a way for society to start using music as a tool for treating disorders. Music therapy is the next step in treating mental illnesses. 

Testing anxiety is only one of the many stressors that calming music can help lessen. S

chool alone, at any age, can contribute to the everyday stress a person might feel. The task of public speaking or presenting can easily put anyone in a bad mood, which then affects their overall performance. Presentations can occur at work or at school, affecting both children and adults. Stress is the body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. Life demands a lot of things from individuals. There’s many daily responsibilities that only lead a person to become overwhelmed and stressed. Psychological studies suggest listening to calming music before stressful situations can decrease the stressfulness of an individuals’ mood. Professors at Monash University looked into research about what impact music would have on students’ stressed moods. An early 2000s study revolved around university students, since they appear to hold more stress than other groups of people (Knight & Rickard). The study had the participants listen to music before going to give a presentation on the subject they were studying. They tested physiological responses to stress like blood pressure and heart rate. The participants were tested before the stressor event and then once after the stressor event. They had control groups that went through the experiment without listening to any music. They concluded that the groups that listened to calming music had less stress levels. Through the information collected through blood pressure, heart rate, and self-reporting questioners, they were able to show that calming music was able to lower individuals stress levels. Like with texting anxiety, music can also lessen stressful emotions that people feel daily. The goal with studies like these are to show people the benefits music can have. The results don’t hold any purpose if society isn’t told and given the choice to better their own lives. Getting people to understand that music isn’t only for personal enjoyment is the first step in prompting the scientific community to further research the beneficial impact listening to music can have in a personal or professional setting. 

Anxiety and stress are not the only negative emotions that people feel. Another common diagnosis in society is depression. Individuals in depressive moods are sometimes not able to function in everyday life. The degree of depression can greatly vary but researchers have proposed the idea that instead of medication, music can be used to help treat depression. Researchers at Miami University school of medicine investigated the effects of rock music on chronically depressed individuals. The researchers had a group of chronically depressed female adolescents listen to rock music for 25-minute sessions and compared that with a control group of chronically depressed female adolescents who only sat and were told to relax their minds for the same time. EEGs were recorded, and saliva samples were taken before and after the sessions to determine the effects of music on stress hormone levels. The results showed that the group of females who listened to rock music had less stress hormones than the group that simply sat quietly trying to relax (Field, Tiffany M., et al). While there were physiological changes, the women’s self-reported questionaries’ said they did not feel different. The researchers were more focused on the physiological changes in the patients as opposed to their actual mood. The participants claimed they didn’t experience any mood changes. This response suggests that music does not have an impact on mood although the physiological responses clearly show that there is a change happening in these women. The problem with this study could have be that the study was done over a short time period. Depression is a serious mental illness and a short burst of music therapy might not be enough to cause a serious change. If the study participants were to continue their music therapy sessions for longer then they might have eventually begun to feel a difference in their moods. For people who do not want to take medication or cannot, music therapy is a way for those individuals to still get treatment for their depression. It is likely to be a long-term treatment process but still promotes beneficial emotional changes. The medical world is only beginning to consider the benefits of music therapy and how it could eventually become an alternate form of treatment. Some people do not have the option of taking medications, so music therapy could be their only way of getting treatment. If medical professionals could be trained in understanding music’s influence on the depressed mind, then they could better handle the depression in their patients. 

Music’s benefits could be greatly used in the school system. Schools currently have rules against listening to music in class which might be more harmful for student’s suffering from anxiety and stress. Stress and anxiety are students’ most common negative moods and emotions. Integrating music into schools could ultimately decrease these negative moods along with helping students to focus. The benefit to having background music playing is that it can help the mind become more relaxed and focused. (Adams). By calming the mind, it lets people focus on their tasks without stress. Music is not seen as a tool for society, it is simply a background occurrence for people in their free time. Music needs to be used as a resource, used as an aid in promoting emotional and mental well-being. Music is a core human experience (Schulkin & Raglan). Music has evolved along side with humans, changing to reflect the current society. Society acknowledges the benefits of classical music on studying although other genres of music do not seem to hold any high importance. What is considered calming music is very subjective. Individuals have their own preferences when it comes to music. Which is why with music therapy professionals must work closely with their patients to figure out what is the best treatment path. 

Individuals can work by themselves to figure out how music impacts them and create their own sort of coping strategies for when they experience stress or anxiety. Coping strategies are generally how people are able to get through stressful situation. Every person has a different type of coping mechanism, but music can still serve as helpful no matter what the situation. Through an understanding of music individuals will better be able to realize the effect music has on them personally and how they can use that to their advantage in everyday life (Levitin). Music therapy can be used in an individual setting, not including a group like in research studies. Music therapy also does not have to be used only in a professional setting or with professionals. Getting people to understand the role music plays in their lives could help them in uncovering the large impact it has on their moods and emotions. 

Music’s ability to calm the mind can influence the quality of work individuals are able to accomplish. Upbeat tunes can put individuals in a calm mood that lowers their anxiety levels that allow for better thought processes (Sample). A university study done tested people through having one group of participants complete the puzzles while listening to upbeat music and then have another group complete the puzzles in silence. The study tested two measures of thinking, convergent thinking that involves deep thought and divergent thinking which is used for coming up with original ideas. The test for convergent thinking had the participants try the Duncker candle test which involved having to figure out how to put a candle on the wall and light it without getting wax on the table. Then they measured divergent thinking by having the participants think of different uses for common household objects. The end results showed that for convergent thinking both groups, music and silence, did the same. Although the divergent thinking results showed that the group that completed the task while listening to music did better than the group that worked in silence. The results of this study further suggest the capability of music to be used as a tool. From the study results, music appears to enhance individuals’ thinking processes. This shows how music can be helpful to anyone, whether they feel stress or anxiety. 

People underestimate the negative impact of working in a stressful atmosphere. Society tells people to push through events whether they feel stressed or not. The key to using music as a tool is creating a calming mindset to give people the best chance at succeeding. Music not only lessens negative moods and emotions but also has the ability to enhance our mood. By creating a stress-free environment, it can allow our minds to better focus on the task at hand. Music therapy does not have to be used just by individuals with mental distress, it can be used by everybody as a helpful tool. Music can be used by both students and workers to get better quality work done. Music is inclusive for everybody. It is considered a universal language that anybody can relate to and understand emotionally. The results of these studies do not just apply to Americans but to the whole human race. While music itself is universal so is the effects of music on mood and emotion. Future societies need to work towards studying the full impact music has on the mind and the beneficial ways they could use that information. 

Listening to music is beneficial in decreasing individuals’ levels of anxiety, stress, and depression. Music is a tool that can be used to better enhance individuals’ capabilities. The studies that have been done show the importance of music and should push the research community in the direction of discovering more about music’s influence on the mind. The problem currently is that there is not enough interest in music therapy. There has not been enough research done to get the public or school systems on the side of promoting music. What the community needs to do is accept that music is more than just an extracurricular. It has to stop being pushed to the background of situations and deemed a distraction. Music is useful and needs to be treated as a viable treatment option to certain mental illnesses because occasionally people don’t have the option to take medication. It is clear through the listed studies’ results that music influences us. The evidence of lower blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormone levels prove that the influence is a beneficial one. Once more research is done then maybe society can begin to use music as the tool it is. 
