Let’s say that you woke up “on the wrong side of the bed.” Nothing you do is working to help improve your mood, and you are just plain grumpy. Then, you turn on music, put some headphones in, and let yourself relax a little bit. All of a sudden, something amazing happens….your mood improves.
How is this possible? There is something special about music, and it’s the simplest way to help us refocus.
These are my favorite five easy ways music can help improve your mental health.
1. Music Helps You Focus
So many distractions happen throughout our day. For me personally, I am an online music teacher and blogger and a stay at home mom of 3 boys. I get interrupted and distracted all day long, and for me, music helps me focus.
If I am really needing to concentrate on finishing a task, I like to listen to Classical music or a slow song that plays softly in the background. Music can help your brain process what it needs to and help you focus on whether you need to be creative, finish a project, or write or read.
2. Music Helps You Relax
Like I mentioned earlier, you could be in the worst mood and bombarded with chaos. Once your favorite music starts playing, you instantly start to feel calmer and more relaxed.
When people take a bath or get a massage, music is playing in the background most of the time. This is because, for that amount of time, music helps you to escape your reality and let yourself fully unwind. We all need to relax, and to listen to music is the perfect way to do that.
3. Music Helps Get You Motivated
Every once in awhile, I get in a slump. I get a case of the “I cant’s” or the “I don’t wanna’s.” For this, the perfect music is something fast and lively.
Suddenly, the housework that has been sitting there waiting for me to do it starts getting done. All of a sudden, that jog sounds a little more appealing.
All of a sudden, I am motivated to start dinner. When you play one of your favorite upbeat songs, you won’t be able to help but dance and sing along.
Music helps motivate us to do the things we don’t want to do.
4. Music Helps Improve Your Mood
Music can help turn sadness into happiness, anger into calmness, and anxiety into peacefulness. Different types of music can be used to achieve these outcomes. Don’t just listen to music, but turn it up loudly.
Dance to a song like no one is watching or have a dance party with your kids. Sing your favorite song like you are trying out for “America’s Got Talent.” Bust out your best air guitar moves to some awesome rock songs. Basically, listen to and enjoy music as much as you can. It really is the best mood enhancer.
5. Music Helps You Feel A Sense of Accomplishment
Not only is listening and enjoying music important but learning a musical instrument is too. Learning a musical instrument helps people find a sense of accomplishment they may not have experienced with anything else.
Learning an instrument makes you feel like you tried something new and found success. Take a look at violins, cellos, and other classical instruments and practice playing. Make sure to select high-quality violin strings as well to help you recognize your progress.
Learning to play an instrument gives meaning to your life and makes you want to be better at your craft. Not only that, learning an instrument
- helps improve cognitive skills
- memory capacity
- and organizational skills.
So, knowing all this, why not learn to play an instrument? It really is never too late.
What are your favorite ways to enjoy music? Do you notice music improves your mood, motivation, relaxation, sense of accomplishment, and focus? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Also, do not forget to subscribe to us for more posts.
This is a guest post by Jessica Perest, a music teacher, piano instructor, and music education blogger at TheDomesticMusician. She is a mom of 3 little dudes and wife to one tall dude. She’s a Netflix binging, sushi-eating, worship band playing, nature-loving, football watching kind of gal. Jessica LOVES teaching and inspiring others and is in love with all things music.
