We all know the feeling during finals week. Lack of sleep, gallons of coffee, and constant worry lingers in the air. Stress and anxiety have become a widespread issue among college students. This increased level of stress can lead to issues such as an increase in fatigue, sleep problems, depression, and more. Music could be a way to reduce this stress.
Music therapy is rapidly becoming a common treatment for a variety of issues. However, there are many forms of music therapy. One of the forms tested by researchers at the University of South Alabama is conscious (self-selected) musical choice.
In this study, college students were given stressful mental tests before either listening to music or sitting in silence. There was a music group for self-selected music, classical music, and heavy-metal music. Students in the self-selected music group chose their music. The results showed that when college students were stressed and selected their own music, their stress levels are reduced more than the other groups. If you don’t have your favorite music with you, classical music is your next best choice as it reduced stress more than heavy-metal or silence.
This finding is significant for many reasons. One is the availability of music. A wide variety of music is available to people every day! Second, being able to reduce stress in a way that is quick and almost always available is ideal. If you want to relax, put on your favorite music! Get your playlists ready for those stressful weeks.
Written by Christopher Tipton