Music interventions bring “meaningful improvements” in mental wellbeing, find researchers, regardless of whether people sing, play or listen to music.
A review of studies across 26 countries has found that music can provide a “clinically significant” boost to mental health. Researchers examined data from various countries, including the UK, Brazil, the US and China, and found that singing, playing or listening to music could improve wellbeing and quality of life among participants.
The meta-analysis reviewed a number of studies examining music interventions and their ability to improve health-related quality of life - and found that such interventions were associated with “statistically and clinically significant changes in mental health quality of life”.
The review, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, confirms what many music lovers have believed for some time – that music can improve people’s mood, help them de-stress, improve concentration and aid relaxation. However, this study goes a step further, showing that when music is added to treatment, it can bring significant improvements to well-being. A sub-set of eight of the studies examined demonstrated that adding music interventions to people’s usual treatment was associated with clinically significant changes to mental health-related quality of life across a range of different conditions.
The authors of the review - from Hannover University in Germany and the University of New South Wales in Australia - suggest that the benefits of music to mental quality of life are similar to those produced by exercise.
However, they emphasised that more research is needed in order to draw conclusions about the best music interventions to use in public health: “Substantial individual variation in music intervention effects precluded conclusions regarding music use in specific scenarios,” said the authors. “Future research is needed to clarify optimal music interventions and doses for use in specific clinical and public health scenarios.”
These mental health benefits of music findings mirror those from a post-lockdown UK survey, published by the British Recorded Music Industry. This survey found that 28 per cent of British people listened to more music during the first lockdown, with 94 per cent reporting that it lifted their mood and 91 per cent saying that it offered them a sense of escape during challenging times – and 55 per cent saying that music eased their anxiety (rising to 60 per cent among 16-25 year olds).
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