Music can be therapeutic if you are experiencing emotional pain and undergoing a breakup. Interestingly, research shows that control over your music can be attributed to less pain.
University College Dublin and Queen Mary University scientists state that supposed control over songs you listen to connects with acute pain relief. Interestingly, the subjects in control of music selection experienced less pain than those without control over their tunes.
The connection between music and pain relief is still unclear
According to past studies, music can potentially relieve chronic pain. However, it is still unclear how music can ease pain, especially short-term pain. It is important to note that things like energy or tempo, which are components of music, are not involved in alleviating pain, but rather it is the feeling that you are in control of the music choice that relieves pain. There has been previous research evaluating the impact of music on pain, albeit in controlled settings, but there has never been a study in a real-life setting.
The study evaluated individuals with real pain and asked them to rate how they felt after and before listening to music. Then, all subjects listened to some music, and some thought they were in control of their music choice.
Having control over music choice contributes to pain relief
Results indicated that those participants with control over music choice had a greater chance of pain relief than other participants. Participants listened to high or low complexity, but researchers didn’t find a connection between the complexity of music and pain relief. Instead, the researchers found that individuals that actively listened to music daily had better-associated pain relief because they were in control of their selection.
Nevertheless, the researchers concluded that engagement and music selection could help optimize pain relief benefits. The authors indicated that picking a certain genre of music can be crucial in enhancing the well-being of individuals. When someone picks a tune, they will be keener on the lyrics.
