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The effects of different types of music on mood, tension, and mental clarity

Authors:
  • HearthMath Institute

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of different types of music on tension, mood, and mental clarity. A total of 144 subjects completed a psychological profile before and after listening for 15 minutes to four types of music (grunge rock, classical, New Age, and designer). With grunge rock music, significant increases were found in hostility, sadness, tension, and fatigue, and significant reductions were observed in caring, relaxation, mental clarity, and vigor. In contrast, after listening to the designer music (music designed to have specific effects on the listener), significant increases in caring, relaxation, mental clarity, and vigor were measured; significant decreases were found in hostility, fatigue, sadness, and tension. The results for New Age and classical music were mixed. Feeling shifts among subjects were observed with all types of music. Designer music was most effective in increasing positive feelings and decreasing negative feelings. Results suggest that designer music may be useful in the treatment of tension, mental distraction, and negative moods.
... Aesthetic experiences also integrate information that spans the senses and can include responses to purely imagined circumstances or even abstract ideas, as with fiction. Their universality suggests that they bring broad and significant benefits, including mood regulation (Moore, 1981;McCraty et al., 1998;Rudd et al., 2012;Zhang et al., 2014;Koelsch and Jäncke, 2015), increased empathetic abilities (Keen, 2007;Mar and Oakley, 2008;Kidd and Castano, 2013), alleviation of caregiver stress (Scrima et al., 2022), lowered blood pressure and stress (Mastandrea et al., 2019); improved health and healing (Ulrich, 1984;Ulrich et al., 2008); stronger concentration (Haake, 2011), and even increased creativity (Welke et al., 2021). Some of these benefits may accrue from enhanced positive affect (Ulrich, 1979). ...
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Aesthetic experiences have the potential to promote learning and creativity by enhancing the ability to understand complexity and to integrate novel or disparate information. Offering a theoretical framework for understanding the cognitive benefits of aesthetic experiences, this paper argues they are the necessary outcome of human learning, in which natural objects or artworks are evaluated in a multi-dimensional preference space shaped by Bayesian prediction. In addition, it contends that the brain-states underlying aesthetic experiences harness configurations of the apex three transmodal neural systems-the default mode network, the central executive network, and the salience network-that may offer information-processing advantages by recruiting the brain's high-power communication hubs, thus enhancing potential for learning gain.
... A large proportion of our patients (60%) indicated music as a stress-lowering factor during the surgery. There is a lot of data that generally indicates the influence of music on the mood and mental state, sometimes taking into account the impact of individual genres (Casale et al., 2018;McCraty et al., 1998;Recours et al., 2009;Schäfer et al., 2013;Stewart et al., 2019). There are studies in which the influence of music in individual tones on the well-being of patients undergoing surgery was assessed. ...
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... All types of music had similar physiological effects. [23] However, in 2 large meta-analyses evaluating music intervention for postoperative recovery, anxiety, and pain during surgery, individual music preference played an important role in the positive effect of music therapy. [1,9] Music intervention timing (pre-, intra-, and postoperative) did not lead to much differences in outcomes, and the appropriate volume to be used is also unclear. ...
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Background: Music therapy is safe, inexpensive, simple, and has relaxing properties for mental and physical capacities, as well as few side effects. Moreover, it improves patient satisfaction and reduces postoperative pain. Thus, we intended to evaluate the effect of music intervention on the quality of comprehensive recovery using quality of recovery 40 (QoR-40) survey in patients undergoing gynecological laparoscopic surgery. Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to music intervention group or control group: 41 patients each. After anesthetic induction, headphones were placed on the patients, and then classical music selected by an investigator was started in the music group with individual comfortable volume during surgery, while the player was not started in the control group. On postoperatively 1 day, the QoR-40 (5 categories: emotions, pain, physical comfort, support, and independence) survey was evaluated, while postoperative pain, nausea, and vomiting were assessed at 30 minutes and 3, 24, and 36 hours postoperatively. Results: Total QoR-40 score was statistically better in the music group, and among the 5 categories, the music group had a higher pain category score than the control group. The postoperative pain score was significantly lower in the music group at 36 hours postoperatively, although the requirement for rescue analgesics was similar in both groups. The incidence of postoperative nausea did not differ at any time point. Conclusion: Intraoperative music intervention enhanced postoperative functional recovery and reduced postoperative pain in patients who underwent laparoscopic gynecological surgery.
... Accordingly, the difference between music as therapy and music therapy is that the latter involves a systematic process wherein a professional music therapist helps the client to achieve health. Using musical experiences and the relationship, that develops between therapist and client is a dynamic force of change (6) . Moreover, while music therapy can only be performed by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program, music as therapy can be used by nurses and other health care professionals (7) . ...
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... 4) Rock: Perceived to denote loud and pessimistic vibrations, rock music comprises heavy beats and rhythmic electric guitar chords. 5) Classical: Known for its Mozart effect, this genre comprises symphony and opera which eliminate any kind of nervousness and alleviate the mood [11]. ...
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... 5) Classical: It is known for its Mozart effect. This genre comprises of symphony and opera which eliminate any kind of nervousness and alleviate the mood [3]. ...
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