14 DAY TRIAL // An investigation carried out by a team of University of Missouri researchers has recently confirmed what numerous people have already known for quite some time: happy music can influence a person's mood.
More precisely, it appears that scientific evidence adds support to the idea that upbeat tunes can lift the spirits and help an individual regain happiness whenever feeling down in the dumps.
The specialists who took the time to analyze how music influences mood also say that, apart from its tricking people into overcoming their sadness, happy music can also prove efficient when it comes to dealing with feelings of anger.
“Our work provides support for what many people already do – listen to music to improve their moods,” study leader Yuna Ferguson commented with respect to the findings of this investigation.
As Yuna Ferguson and her fellow researchers explain, there is one small catch that people wishing to use happy music to improve on their mood must not overlook.
Thus, they say that this mood-changing strategy only works when the individual becomes actively involved in listening to the tunes. Daily Mail details on this issue, and says that those who merely play happy music in the background without paying too much attention to it and without their being consciously aware of the fact that the music is supposed to make them feel happier will probably stay either upset or angry.
The same source informs us that volunteers asked to listen to happy music without their being told to focus on a desired outcome (i.e. their feeling better about themselves and life in general) did not really experience any benefits as a result of their simply listening to the tunes.
However, specialist Yuna Ferguson warns that people need not focus too much on the happiness they expect to get from the tunes either.
“Rather than focusing on how much happiness they've gained and engaging in that kind of mental calculation, people could focus more on enjoying their experience of the journey towards happiness and not get hung up on the destination,” Yuna Ferguson argued.