Listening To Sad Music? It Can Have Health Benefits

Connectedness provided by sad music can sometimes make a person sit with uncomfortable emotions like nostalgia, and longing and can help them confront these feelings.

Researchers have found that music can create a feeling of connectedness. Scientists have found over a period that music can stimulate some areas in our brains. It can also trigger the release of neurochemicals that play a role in brain function and overall mental health. Recent studies have shown that the kind of music one might be listening to might also affect a person differently. There has been an ideological dispute about whether sad music is beneficial for mental health or whether could it worsen symptoms of mental conditions like depression.

While music produces a personal and unique experience for every listener, research has shown that sad music can impact a person’s mental health by providing a sense of connectedness. As per quoted experts, the sense of connectedness provided by sad music is independent of the mood it can induce.

Why do people listen to sad music?

The study published in the Journal of Aesthetic Education involved 400 participants and provided them with a description of four kinds of music, a song that is emotionally deep but technically flawed, music that lacks emotional depth but is technically sound, a song that is both technically flawed and lacks emotional depth and a song that has both the elements. They found that participants valued music rich in emotions but technically flawed over music that lacked emotional depth and was technically sound.

The researchers found that music that could make people feel connected to emotions was preferred over others. They found that whether this music could uplift or put a person put into a bad mood depends on individual experience but it does make them feel connected irrespective of the mood induced.

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As per quoted experts, with this connection, sad music can sometimes make a person sit with uncomfortable emotions like nostalgia, and longing and can help them confront these feelings. It can also provide a similar feeling of having a heartfelt conversation with another person.

Music and depression

Studies have shown that in people affected by clinical depression, music can affect them differently. People affected by depression are not able to motivate themselves but rather find themselves losing motivation. While sad music can make them feel connected but instead of motivating them, it can make them stuck in a negative pattern of thinking and can prompt negative memories and thoughts.