Music and Stress: How Do Different Genres Affect Stress Levels?

 Abigail D'Souza

The word stress in psychology refers to the physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural responses to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging (Ciccarelli & White, 2014). The degree of stress one experiences, the frequency and how they cope with it has important consequences. Studies have shown that stress is related to the suppression of the immune system (Segerstrom & Miller, 2004), delayed healing (Koschwanez et al., 2013), inflammation, and increased risk of premature death (Brown et al, 2009, Epel et al 2004). Thus, it is important that one deals healthily and adaptively with their stress. The methods through which one attempts to accomplish this are called coping-strategies. A common such coping strategy is listening to music. 

Generally, music is negatively correlated with stress. A 1996 study (Mulik-Kolasa & Matejek) found that when pre-surgical patients were told about their procedure and made to listen to music, it was able to help calm them (as indicated by their arterial pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, and glucose count) as opposed to those patients that were told about the procedure and but not allowed to listen; they remained physiologically aroused. Nilsson’s (2009) study showed that patients recovering from an open-heart surgery who listened to music reported higher levels of relaxation than those who didn’t. Another study reported that, after performing a stressful task, patients returned to resting blood pressure levels faster if they listened to music than if they simply sat in silence (Chafin et al., 2004). Listening to music has also been shown to improve sleep pattern and lower anxiety (Hernadez-Ruiz, 2005)

Thus, listening to music has been shown to effectively reduce stress, making it a useful and adaptive coping strategy. In fact, studies have shown that one of the most common reasons cited for listening to music is mood enhancement and emotional regulation. 

But what about specific genres? How do different kinds of music affect stress levels? In a 2007 study of this exact question,  American undergraduate students were attached to physiological sensors and given a stressful test, before being randomly assigned to one of four conditions based on the music they’d be made to listen to- silence, classical music, heavy metal music, and self-selected music. Participants had been directed to bring with them a CD of music they found relaxing, and it’s these CDs that participants in the latter condition listened to. After 20 minutes of listening to music (or sitting in silence in the case of the first group), the participants were given tests for anxiety, relaxation and anger before being detached and debriefed. The study found that the participants who listened to classical music, or music of their own choice were significantly less anxious, and more relaxed than those in the other conditions. The heavy metal condition produced the least feelings of relaxation of the four. In fact, participants in that condition experienced higher levels of anxiety after listening to music than when they were taking the stressful test in the first place. 

A study by Labbé and colleagues (2002) similarly had 60 undergraduate students randomly assigned to one of the same four conditions as above, for thirty minutes before giving them a mildly stressful test. Participants were made to rate their relaxation while listening to music, and after taking the test. The participants were also attached to ‘biofeedback instruments,’ so that physiological indicators of stress could also be observed. The results revealed that those who listened to classical, or self-selected music felt more relaxed and less anxious, while those who listened to hard rock reaped the least benefit, though differences in the physiological indicator across conditions were less clear. That’s not to dismiss the value of heavier genres of music- Ahmadi’s 2009 study explores the ways in which ‘hard and heavy’ music helped cancer patients cope. She highlights how it can be used to express a sense of self, as well as a source of tranquility. 

Aside from genre divisions, results from a 2012 study (Getz et al.) showed that people who used music for emotional regulation tended to listen to conventional and upbeat genres of music, possibly because these genres most effectively soothe or distract them. 

There are some limitations to all these studies. Most glaringly, the studies are largely from W.E.I.R.D countries, and generally make use of college students, calling into question the generalizability of the results. Further, genre definitions are not as clearly demarcated nor clearly and objectively understood by different people, even when they are from the same culture and age group. What one might consider country, another might think of as blues, and a third as folk, and many musicians themselves cannot be confined to one genre. 

Further, there is much need for further research. Self-chosen music, like classical music, resulted in a decrease in stress and increase in relaxation in participants, possibly for reasons of comfort and familiarity as well as feelings of control. But this does lead one to wonder, for example, about those who self-selected heavy music, and how this affects their stress levels as compared to those assigned to the other conditions. Research into how long lasting the coping effects of music are, and how they might be best optimized would also be useful.

Listening to music is a common hobby for people of all ages, but most obviously of youth- something that has only increased as technological advancements allow one to listen to the music of their choice as and when they desire. This further makes this particular way of coping even more accessible. Thus, in spite of limitations and unknowns, this research allows for some interesting further insight into the relationship between stress and music, as well as offers interesting opportunities for the development of interventions and aids to dealing with stress.  

Works Referenced: 

Ahmadi, F. (2009). Hard and heavy music: Can it make a difference in the young cancer patient’s life? doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15845/voices.v9i2.345 

Alagha, J., & Ipradjian , A. (2017). The Effects of Different Types of Music on Stress Levels. Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: A Arts & Humanities - Psychology, 17(5). 

Brown, D. W., Anda, R. F., Tiemeier, H., Felitti, V. J., Edwards, V. J., Croft, J. B., & Giles, W. H. (2009). Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of premature mortality. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 37(5), 389–396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.06.021 

Burns, J. L., Labbe, E., Arke, B., Capeless, K., Cooksey, B., Steadman, A., & Gonzales, C. (2002). The effects of different types of music on perceived and physiological measures of stress. Journal of Music Therapy, 39(2), 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/39.2.101   

Burns, J., Labbé, E., Williams, K., & McCall, J. (1999). Perceived and physiological indicators of relaxation: as different as Mozart and Alice in chains. Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback, 24(3), 197–202. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1023488614364

Chafin, S., Roy, M., Gerin, W., & Christenfeld, N. (2004). Music can facilitate blood pressure recovery from stress. British Journal of Health Psychology, 9(3), 393–403. https://doi.org/10.1348/1359107041557020 

Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, J. N. (2014). Psychology: An exploration with Dsm-5 update. Pearson.  

Epel, E. S., Blackburn, E. H., Lin, J., Dhabhar, F. S., Adler, N. E., Morrow, J. D., & Cawthon, R. M. (2004). Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(49), 17312–17315. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0407162101  

Getz, L. M., Marks, S., & Roy, M. (2012). The influence of stress, optimism, and music training on music uses and preferences. Psychology of Music, 42(1), 71–85. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735612456727  

Hernández-Ruiz E. (2005). Effect of music therapy on the anxiety levels and sleep patterns of abused women in shelters. Journal of music therapy, 42(2), 140–158. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/42.2.140 

Hooley, J. M., Nock, M., & Butcher, J. N. (2021). Abnormal psychology. Pearson. 

Koschwanez, H. E., Kerse, N., Darragh, M., Jarrett, P., Booth, R. J., & Broadbent, E. (2013). Expressive writing and wound healing in older adults. Psychosomatic Medicine, 75(6), 581–590. https://doi.org/10.1097/psy.0b013e31829b7b2e 

Labbé, E., Schmidt, N., Babin, J., & Pharr, M. (2007). Coping with stress: The effectiveness of different types of music. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 32(3-4), 163–168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-007-9043-9  

Miluk-Kolasa, B., Matejek, M., & Stupnicki, R. (1996). The effects of music listening on changes in selected physiological parameters in adult pre-surgical patients. Journal of Music Therapy, 33(3), 208–218. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/33.3.208  

Nilsson, U. (2009). Soothing music can increase oxytocin levels during bed rest after open-heart surgery: A randomised control trial. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18(15), 2153–2161. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02718.x 

 Segerstrom, S. C., & Miller, G. E. (2004). Psychological stress and the human immune system: A meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychological Bulletin, 130(4), 601–630. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.601