Pete Alexander2x TEDx Speaker and best-selling author helping transform burned out workers into engaged colleagues.

Stress Relief Tool - Listen to Music

9 Sept 2019 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:02

In this brief spoken segment, the presenter explains how music can serve as a stress‑relief tool by tapping into context‑dependent memory, recalling happy past periods, and thereby reducing tension. He shares a personal anecdote about the song "The Greatest American Hero" that energizes him, and advises listeners to vary their musical choices—especially when feeling stuck—suggesting that exploring new genres, such as classical music, can calm the mind, lower blood pressure, and help break mental ruts.

Chapters

Do you like listening to music? Most of us do. And one of the positive effects of music comes from its ability to remind us of previous memories and environments. Scientifically, what it's doing is it's tapping into our context-dependent memory. So if high school or college was a happy time for you, if you start listening to the music you were listening to at that time of your life, It can help you feel more connected, and reminiscing about it can help reduce your stress. One of my favorite songs to do this is The Greatest American Hero. Okay, I know it's a really, really dorky song, but it works for me. It gets me up and gets me going. Now, if you currently feel like you've hit a wall and you can't move forward, Sometimes you need to switch it up, and music can help. One simple change is to change the music you're listening to. So if you always listen to the same music on your commute, for example, you might want to try something different. Try finding new music to help stimulate or calm your mind. Classical music, for example, has been shown to to have the ability to relax the body and reduce blood pressure. So give it a try. Try a different type of music if you're in a rut and see if it helps reduce your stress.