A student plugs in their headphones and gets to work, completing one assignment after the other as multiple songs play in their ears. Oftentimes, dealing with stress during the school day or during everyday activities can take a toll on one’s mental health.
One of the remedies for dealing with stress is listening to music. According to the National Library of Medicine, studies of the psychobiological system, a system that connects with one’s mental phenomena, show that listening to music before a stressful activity helps calm the nervous system.
“My favorite playlist to listen to when stressed is hip hop because hip hop can have a sort of thing where it’s like chill rap, but also up beat,” senior Margaret D’Agostino said.
According to studies by the University of Nevada, Reno, Counseling Services, the power of instrumental music helps calm one’s stress system. A slower tempo can quiet your mind and relax. Most teens tend to listen to music with words because it helps shut out external noise and the unwanted thoughts in their minds. According to Destinations, a teen treatment center, music is a type of therapy for most teens because it helps increase students’ focus.
“I feel as if when I put my airpods in to listen to music, I’m in a better mood, and all the problems I was thinking about go away, especially when I am listening to my favorite artist, Taylor Swift,” junior Reese Acocella said.
According to Verywell family, technology use in the classroom has a negative impact on students’ attention as their attention is divided between the teacher and their cellphone. Most teachers feel as if cellphones are a distraction in the classroom, resulting in 77% of schools issuing a cellphone ban per the National Center for Education Statistics. Oftentimes others feel that might not be the case for most. According to Study.com, music calms an individual’s nerves and helps them relax and focus on what they are doing in class.
“When I’m feeling stressed at work, I go for drives during my planning period and listen to chill music,” math teacher Brenna Keener said.
There are many different genres of music, and calming one’s nervousness with music can sound different for different people. Some people choose pop, chill, while others opt for instrumental or even rap at some times.
“In my opinion the best genre to calm stress is chill music, because when I’m listening to that genre of music, I can calmly bring my stress levels down,” Acocella said.
Even though music may help with stress and anxiety, people listen to music casually even when they are not stressed. According to Psychology Today most people tend to choose different music genres for when they are stressed versus when they are not because it helps keep them motivated. For example, music and an individual’s mood are linked, and the type of music individuals listen to engages a wide range of calmness in their neurobiological systems.
“Instead of listening to chill music when stressed, I tend to listen to more rap when I am not stressed out, since it just puts me in a better mood and I feel very motivated to have a good day,” D’Agostino said.
