Music Therapy to Reduce Anxiety During a Pandemic

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress, one that we can usually move out of rather quickly. Unfortunately, the pandemic has caused many people to experience recurring or ongoing anxiety. This leads to fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritation, muscle tension, and sleep problems. For folks who aren’t used to managing mental health issues, it’s hard to know where to find relief. 

Music is a great tool to find peace and relaxation in the midst of stress that we don’t have much control over. A 2021 meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that anxiety significantly declined with the use of music therapy in treatment of all ages. Another study from 2020 found that music therapists working with children in the preoperative setting helped reduce anxiety for those patients. Not only did the children feel better, but over 90% of the medical staff interviewed reported they felt very satisfied by the support of music therapists.

You can incorporate music into your daily routine so that you don’t have to add something to your busy schedule that might cause more stress. Relaxation music doesn’t have to be Pachebel’s Canon or rainfall sounds. You can use your favorite song, be it hip hop, country, or jazz.

Try creating a playlist of music that meets you where you are- if you’re feeling tense or frustrated, it won’t always help to just lie down and listen to music at 60bpm. Choose a song that matches your current energy level, and then spend time listening to it. Then choose a song that is slightly different, or calmer, and listen to that. As you listen, try breathing in time to the beat of the music. If it’s a fast song, breathe in for 6 beats and out for 8. If it’s a slower song, try breathing to 4 beats at a time.

Adjusting your breathing even slightly reduces anxiety by increasing the supply of oxygen to your brain and stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system. Listening to music while doing this distracts your brain from stressors and lessens the pressure of ‘trying to relax’. If you want to go deeper, you can draw along to music with pastels or paints, or move in time to the music. Go ahead, dance in your kitchen! No one is watching.

Have questions about this exercise? Email kate@mainemusicandhealth.com