Have you ever noticed how your favorite songs can instantly change your mood? A slow and soothing melody can help calm an anxious mind, while an uplifting and upbeat song can get you going and ready for the day. Music has a way of helping us through any situation we might find ourselves in. It helps us get words out when our brains can’t relay them. For centuries, music has provided a place of comfort and connection. Now, modern science is starting to prove what our hearts have always known.

The Science Behind It

Researchers have conducted studies showing that music helps release endorphins. Endorphins are hormones that are produced in your brain to help relieve stress and improve mood. It has also been proven to release dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter made in your brain and is nicknamed the “reward center.” It’s that feeling you get when you finally beat that level you have been working on for weeks. Or when you get a good grade back on that test you swore you failed. Researchers have also found that music affects the parts of the brain connected to emotions, memory, and movement. Due to the effects on the memory part of the brain, music can help with recall and memorization. We see this with the ABC song or the cringeworthy music videos teachers play. I still remember the parts of a plant and animal cell due to the Cell Rap played for me in middle school science class.

Music Helps Where Words Fail

Have you ever been listening to a song and thought, “This describes exactly how I am feeling.” Music can be used as a communication tool. More often than not, I have used music to relay the emotions I am feeling. As someone who struggles to talk about my current emotions, music has been my lifesaver. I will hear a song that helps get through to people just how I am feeling.

Music has also been proven to help people who have experienced a stroke. Sadly, a common side effect of a stroke is loss of speech. Scientists have experienced a strange experience where stroke survivors with a loss of speech have been able to sing instead. This has allowed stroke survivors to communicate rhythmically rather than through words. Since this discovery, multiple therapies using music have been developed. Just listening to music for an hour each day can help memory.

Physical Benefit

Music doesn’t just get your mind moving, but it also gets your body moving. Scientists have discovered that listening to music can help lower blood pressure. Songs can also affect your breathing and heart rate. When listening to a song you love, your heart and breathing can sync to the rhythm of the song. Slow, gentle melodies can help slow your breath and heart rate. On the other hand, upbeat melodies can increase circulation, which in turn can make you feel more alive.

At its core, music heals us by its ability in reminding us that we are alive, feeling more deeply, and conveying emotions we might otherwise not have the words for. Whether it’s instrumental, pop, rock, or country. Music offers a kind of solace or escape plan in our crazy lives. So, when things get stressful, or when you want to beat your step goal. Put in your headphones, put on your favorite song, and conquer one melody at a time.

Some Of the Songs I Listen to While Writing

Just a Kiss by Lady A

So Highschool by Taylor Swift

Guilty as Sin? by Taylor Swift

In Case You Didn’t Know by Brett Young

Die With A Smile by Bruno Mars, Lady GaGa

Ruin My Life by Zara Larsson

Sources Cited

Clinic, Cleveland. “Dopamine: What It Is, Function & Symptoms.” Cleveland Clinic, 23 March 2022, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22581-dopamine. Accessed 11 November 2025.

Clinic, Cleveland. “Endorphins: What They Are and How to Boost Them.” Cleveland Clinic, 19 May 2022, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23040-endorphins. Accessed 11 November 2025.

Congress, Cardiometabolic Health. “Music & Heart Health.” cardiometabolichealth.org, 2018, https://www.cardiometabolichealth.org/music-heart-health/. Accessed 11 November 2025.

Victor, David. “How Music Helps People Heal: The Therapeutic Power of Music.” Harmony & Healing, 2024, https://www.harmonyandhealing.org/how-music-helps-people-heal/. Accessed 11 November 2025.

Williamson, Laura. “The healing power of music for stroke survivors.” American Heart Association, 4 May 2022, https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/05/04/the-healing-power-of-music-for-stroke-survivors. Accessed 11 November 2025.

Wilson, Debra Rose. “Benefits of Music on Body, Mind, Relationships & More.” Healthline, 1 April 2020, https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-music#physical-benefits. Accessed 11 November 2025.