How Music Can Be A Secret Weapon To Reduce Daily Stress?

Turn to Music if it becomes hard to find a way out of the downward spiral, which is caused by anxiety and overwhelming stress. Music affects your subconscious mind where the negative feelings and thoughts feed on your fear and add fuel to stress.

Listening to music is a quick acting solution for daily stress, which is always available and is relatively inexpensive, and it can save your life. Below are the 12 ways in which you can use music in your regular routine so that it can help you to manage stress and make your life more peaceful.

1. Starting the Day with Music Helps Reduce Daily Stress

   Starting the day with music will help in reducing daily stress. Just imagine, if every day starts with a sonic boom or sun blots in the sky every morning similar to the sudden switching ON of the floodlight. This is what you may feel when you wake to the clock radio with a soda commercial, blaring, the morning news or with a harsh alarm.

   Try being a little sensitive to yourself. Consider waking up with a familiar piece of music that soothes you like a lovers’ caress, or a beautiful sunrise and start you up with a good mood. It can be easy to program if one has a smart phone, which will allow you to set a song as the alarm tone.

2. Get the Best Out of Music- Try Singing Along with the Music to Get Rid of Stress and Promote Relaxation

   Involving with music will surely cut down your daily stress. If you wish to take the benefits of listening to music to another level, then try to sing. One of the finest ways to change the vibrations your thoughts is singing, it will help you to slow and regulate your breathing, which promote relaxation. Sing in the car, sing in the shower, and hum a lullaby before going to sleep. One can also sing “a capella” or do recording. You do not have to worry if you are not a good singer; it is not about putting yourself into another stressful situations or performing. You just have to enjoy the feeling of melody that is moving through you.

   You should pick a song that can put you in a better mood that you can sing and which will be inspired and relax you. Also, pay proper attention how you feel after listening to music for a few minutes. Keep a note of songs that makes you feel good so that you can return to it when you need it the most.

3. Try to Play an Instrument – Even if you are an Amateur

   Playing a music instrument can help you lessen daily stress. You should spend a few minutes in the morning playing music, even if you are a beginner or a well-versed musician. It can be rudimentary exercise or simple scale exercise; you can opt for your favorite song or anything improvisational. Playing music is a similar mega – vitamin, it engages various areas of the human brain in different activities. Music has the ability to shift moods and patterns and will improve the physical well-being, which is remarkable effect.

4. Re-program your Brain with Music – from Negative to Positive

   Listening to music can re-program your brain from negative feelings to positive ones and thus helps in scaling down your daily stress. The human brain is unfortunately built with the negative bias. Because of the pre-historic man’s primary need for self-preservation and survival, the brain has many neurons dedicated to respond and its processes negative thoughts rather than stimulating positive ones. You tend to hold these negative impressions for a long time and repeat them frequently, either subconsciously or consciously, reinforcing those fears and anxiety producing vibration. It is one of the reasons, which takes it difficult for us to pull out from the downward spiral when one falls over overwhelmed with anxiety and stress.

   Even though it takes more efforts to trigger the different parts of the brain, which will reassure one to be okay to de-stress, music can help us in such case. The key to break the pattern of the negative thoughts, which fuels stress, is to create new thoughts that are strong and positive. It is the reason for the repeated positive affirmation that focuses on the chanting mantra or self- assuring thoughts- to reprogram your brain in the subconscious way.

5. Move with Music When Jogging, Running, or Exercising Helps Trim the Everyday Stress

   Moving along with music can trim your everyday stress. Try to take music along with you for your daily exercise routine. A morning run or walk, or even stretching or yoga, will become easier and more enjoyable when music is your personal coach and companion. You should only choose the music, which works for you and will have an effect on the goal that you are trying to achieve. It will require some trial and error to sort things in the first place, it is better to make the note of the musical selection, which inspires you, and it also promotes the sense of well-being in an individual.

   Movements- whether stretching, walking, yoga, playing sports, running, or any other types of workout- is also a better way to eliminate the buildup of lactic acid and tension that traps in the body and lead to disease and stress. To enhance the effect, add music.

6. When Traffic Jam is Causing Stress – Turn to Music to Help Relax

   Traffic jam can cause a lot of worry and anxiety especially in the morning periods when you are on your way to work. Listening to music in the car can diminish your daily stress.

   One of the quickest ways that stresses all of us is to sit in the gridlock traffic, which makes us worried that we will be late for the important appointment. Well, worrying about something or getting stress does not make time to go fast, even the traffic does not move faster. The traffic jam is an external circumstance that cannot be changed, we need to change our internal state to relieve or avoid stress. One can use this time to catch the phone call or be updated on news, but the environment of the car is best for music that can shift your mood.

7. Try Playing Background Music While Working on Deadlines to Ease the Stress

   Playing background music while working on deadlines can lower your daily stress. The environment of the work can be often stressful. It can be more stressful if there are several types of personalities at the same place, or when overwhelming work pressure or office politics or the personal issues of an individual.

   The background music can help individuals to work through their daily routine in their best mood and your system can be recharged through the inspirational music. The annoying distraction from the noisy work environment can also be masked through the relaxing background music.

8. Become Aware of the Outside Noises – Try to Take Control If Possible

   When you are selecting a location to hold a business meeting, eat, or visit with friends, be mindful about the sound of the environment which includes the type of music and the noise level that is being played. The loud or noisy environment can contribute to unconscious tension and stress build-up even without letting you know about it.

   Similarly, as the junk food increases the toxicity and stress in our system, an unhealthy or unconscious sonic diet can do the same. You can relax naturally in a quieter environment, with relaxing and soothing music.

9. ‘Active Listening’ Can help you Relax from Daily Stress

   There are different ways through which you can listen to music. Just let the music play in the background when you are doing something or you can actively listen to the music. “Active Listening” can engage more parts of the human brain and reverberate more in the cell of the body. It makes this process powerful for transforming your emotions and thoughts.

   Try to eliminate the distractions and choose a slower piece of the music that can resonate deeply. Then slow down your breaths, close your eyes and let the music soothe you from inside.

10. Relax into Music after Stressful Long Day at Work

    Turning to music after a long day at work can help you slash daily stress. Instead of jumping on the internet, catching the evening news or flipping through the TV channels when you arrive home, it is better if you choose music to part your end-of-day unwinding ritual. Break all your connections with the outer world and play your favorite tunes. Rather than practicing active listening, you can let the music do the task for you. If there is distraction in your home, then plug-in headphones.

11. Start Playing Music with Others

    Start playing music with others in a supportive and caring environment, which will also energize you, can get relief from stress and frustration. Join a local choir, drum circle, or play music with family members or friends. Do not forget to “play”. Playing music can be relaxing and fun if all the participants take active participation. The music should be played for fun and no one should judge the music playing process as it could create stress and tension in an individual.

12. Dancing to Music can Reduce Stress and Anxiety

    Dancing to the music is the best way to lessen the daily stress and can shift your mood instantly. Through this, you can receive all the benefits of a physical exercise and active listening can be fun. To your five minute tunes up also add some cool moves, dance around in your office or home alone or dance along with the group of friends. Opting for the dance classes can also be beneficial as it is a way to release stress, raise your spirit, built up your confidence, improve your health and relaxed when you step out.

Finally, do a trial & error and choose the right music for yourself. Even though it is scientifically proven that music is beneficial in a number of ways, the preferences of music are subjective. The one thing that you should be careful about the music is the selection of the music. Listen to the music that soothes your body in the best way.

Music is a strong alchemy, which affects our emotions, perceptions, and physical well-being, even if we are not paying attention. Remember, if the right music can relax us then the wrong music can also agitate us and increase the stress level. Typically, more patterns oriented and slower music can regulate as well as relaxed your systems, and the tempo music can energize you. The songs that are happy can quickly shuffle your mood and can sometimes bring old memories.

Also Read:

• 14 Strategies to Deal with Stress after a Long Work Day
• Effects of Stress, Fear, Anger & Love On The Human Brain
• Can Stress Cause Chest Pain?
• 6 Stress Management Techniques to Take Control of Your Own Life
• 25 Stress Busters that Can Help You Relax and Release Stress
• Stress Affects your Entire System and Not Just Your Mind!
• 10 Tips to Control Your Outcome in Stressful Situations
• Yoga as a Treatment Option for Anxiety Disorders