Stress in our everyday lives is a very prominent thing—perhaps more prominent than ever before. But can music help reduce the effects of stress on your brain?

Effective stress recovery is important to prevent long-term consequences of stress. Listening to music could be beneficial for stress reduction. In a meta-analysis (read the study here!), 14 experimental studies were conducted on participants. In all of these, participants were exposed to a small stressor before listening to music or a separate control condition. They found that music listening did have an effect on stress recovery, though it varied depending on the musical genre, who selected the music, and the tempo.

In another study (read here!), researchers found that music was often associated with stress-reducing effects. The study explored the relationship between listening to music and physiological stress in daily life, using measures like salivary cortisol (HPA axis) and salivary alpha-amylase (ANS). The results showed that listening to music—especially to relax, and particularly when done alongside others—significantly reduced stress, as well as the effects of that stress. Music listening affects the HPA axis and the ANS differently, but overall, music was shown to be beneficial for recovering and winding down from stressors in everyday life, as demonstrated through the saliva analysis of participants.

In a separate study based on an online survey, participants were asked what type of music they would listen to if a hypothetical stressful event were to occur. They were then given short music clips and asked to choose. Among all the people who completed the survey, the types of music selected fell into two distinct categories. These two categories shared similarities in key, volume, speech, acoustics, instruments, and liveliness, but differed in energy and mode. Overall, the majority of people chose very similar types of music to help de-stress.

Music therapy is becoming a more prominent intervention for stress reduction in both medical and mental healthcare settings. It is characterized by personally tailored music, guided by a trained and qualified music therapist. A meta-analysis (link here!) involving over 2,500 participants tested the strength of music therapy’s effects and showed an overall positive impact on stress-related outcomes.

So the next time you’re feeling a little stressed, just know that you have your favorite music to lean on!