Music is Magical for Your Mood!

Hey everyone! Today, let's dive into the wonderful world of music. Have you ever noticed how your favorite song can instantly lift your spirits or calm your mind? That's the magic of music! Music isn't just about catchy tunes; it's about using melodies to heal. Imagine feeling stressed or overwhelmed and finding peace in music. Well now you can. There are many music resources like apps that come in handy to help you anytime. They help you find peace by playing, understanding, or simply listening to music. And the best part? You don't have to be musically talented to benefit since music is for everyone and can help with managing anxiety, expressing emotions, and feeling better overall. So, why not give it a try? 

How Does Music Change Your Mood?

Have you ever stopped to think about the power music has in your life? Music is more than its catchy beats or lyrics that resonate with you—music has some amazing benefits, especially when it comes to your health and well-being. A fun fact is that using music as a mental health tool is that it can increase pain tolerance by a surprising 22% (Lindner, 2023)! Imagine being capable of handling discomfort better just by listening to some of your favorite songs. It's not just about mental health either—children with disabilities have seen a 38% improvement (Lindner, 2023) in their skills through music therapy. And here's something really cool: listening to music has been proven to reduce anxiety. Whether you're jamming out to your favorite playlist or relaxing with some calming tunes, music has a way of touching our hearts and minds in ways we never imagined. So next time you feel stressed or down, why not turn up the volume and let the music work its magic?

Helpful Resources

Our Top Choices:

Garageband: Your Ultimate Music Maker

Rating: 5/5

Garageband lets you turn your phone into a personal recording studio, allowing you a space to get creative and make music to express your feelings. It is an exciting app with many different features that make it easy for anyone to use, even if you don’t know much about music. Garageband offers you a free outlet for seeking mental wellness by using creativity and music!

Review:

As someone who has used Garageband, I can confidently say it's an excellent tool for music lovers and creative minds. Getting started is a breeze, and the app is filled with so many features to explore like cool instruments, beats, and effects. Whether you're a seasoned musician or just starting out, Garageband offers a space for everyone to create and express themselves through music. Plus, it's completely free! Overall, I highly recommend Garageband for anyone who wants to work on bettering their mental health.

TIDE: Mindfulness & Sleep

Rating: 4/5

TIDE aims to help both your body and mind by offering many soundtracks to help cope with sleep issues, trouble focusing, or mental health issues. This app is super helpful for students whether it be to get better sleep, relieve stress, or take a minute from everyday life. 

Spiritune

Rating: 4/5

Spiritune is an app personalized for you, it uses scientific data to coach you on how to manage your mental health with music. Spiritune has simple instructions to follow and helps give you a playlist recommendation based on how you’re feeling. Overall, this is a pretty helpful and free app that can be a useful tool for you to try out!

Endel: Focus, Sleep, Relax

Rating:4/5

Endel uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make a personalized sound pattern for you based on your activity, location, and feelings. It recommends specific music to help with things like anxiousness, meditation, and focus. Endel also has daily reminders and lets you download music to allow you to stay on top of your mental health goals at any time.

Humm.ly Music Therapy App

Rating: 3/5

Humm.ly can help you become your best self, as it has licensed music therapists who specifically produce tracks for you. With over 100 therapeutic music tracks there is something available for everyone whether you want help with relaxation, focus, or better sleep.

Conclusion

We've touched on many music apps and their potential to improve mental well-being. Each app offers unique features and benefits for anyone to use depending on their preferences and needs. Our highest-rated app was ‘Garageband’ because it is a free app with many different options to create, express, and listen to music. It is super easy to get started and can be used by anyone who wants to improve their mental wellness and let their creative side out. The next app we checked out is ‘TIDE: Mindfulness & Sleep’. Its wide variety of features for relaxation, meditation, and sleep improvement make it a top choice for teens dealing with mental health issues. Another app we enjoyed was ‘Spiritune’, which provides a user-friendly experience with personalized music recommendations to help navigate your feelings. We also recommend trying out ‘Endel: Focus, Sleep, Relax’. It stands out for its huge impact on relaxation and focus improvement. By tracking information related to your health and feelings, it helps you identify patterns in your behavior and cements itself as one of the best apps. The last app we recommend is ‘Humm.ly Music Therapy App’. This app has a wide selection of free therapeutic tracks to help you enter a relaxed state of mind and manage your feelings. Overall, each app has its strengths and weaknesses, but they all share the common goal of harnessing music's therapeutic potential to enhance mental well-being. When ranking the apps, we considered factors such as ease of use, ability to help you achieve your therapeutic goals, affordability, and overall user experience. Ultimately, the best app for you depends on your personal preferences and goals, so take some time to explore and find the one that resonates with you the most.

References

Information Topics:

Professional, C. C. medical. (n.d.). What is music therapy, and how can it

help me?. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/8817-music-therapy

Image references:

Gubar, S. (2019, September 26). When music is the best medicine. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/26/well/live/music-therapy-cancer.html 

User, G. (2022, March 7). What is music therapy? 5 things you should know before signing up - music education blog for Parents and students. Vibe Music Academy.https://www.vibemusicacademy.com/blog/what-is-music-therapy 

Statistics:

December 24). Music therapy statistics and trends in 2024 • gitnux. GITNUX. https://gitnux.org/music-therapy- statistics/#:~:text=Music%20therapy%20can%20increase%20pain,music%20therapy%20in%2 0managing%20pain.