How Music Affects Peoples Moods//Mikayla Bivona

Music is a huge part of people's lives, they listen to it while working, writing, exercising, walking in the halls ect.. Why do humans listen to music? Some people say they listen to it to relax them, some say to distract them. Rachel Raffino says she listens to uplifting music when she's upset to change her mood! Claire Riley listens to music to "block people out," because she's an "antisocial nerd" (her words, not mine).

Music can also bring people back to specific memories they had, for example, Kate Fontes tells us that when she hears the song Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift, it reminds her of her first concert. When I hear the song Born In the USA by Bruce Springsteen, I'm reminded of when I went to the women's US vs Germany world cup game, when walking out of the arena, that song was blasting though someones pick up truck speakers while people celebrated all around us.

Certain genres of music affect large amounts of people in a similar way. For example, according to Jane Collingwood from psychcentral.com, "[classical music]can have a beneficial effect on our physiological functions, slowing the pulse and heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and decreasing the levels of stress hormones." 

If you don't typically listen to classical music when you work, give it a try! It could help you and you could end up liking it.