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The Nervous System Soundtrack: How Music Shapes Your State
In this episode of Pause Here, we explore how different genres of music can shift your emotions and your nervous system in a real, embodied way, not just “music affects mood” level, but breath, activation, stress recovery, and the inner climate you live in.
You’ll learn why a slower track can create spaciousness, why repetition can feel like a container, and why “calming music” isn’t universal, because your history with sound matters just as much as the sound itself. We explore a few genre contrasts (classical vs metal, pop vs rock, and alternative vs emo) to show how regulation can look like softness… or containment… or catharsis, depending on what your system needs. Lean how to choose the song that meets you where you are, then guides you somewhere better.
Press play, check in, and let your body choose the next track.
- Thoma, M. V., La Marca, R., Brönnimann, R., Finkel, L., Ehlert, U., & Nater, U. M. (2013). The effect of music on the human stress response. PLOS ONE, 8(8), e70156.
- Stewart, J., Garrido, S., Hense, C., & McFerran, K. (2019). Music use for mood regulation: Self-awareness and conscious listening choices in young people with tendencies to depression. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 1199.
- Sharman, L., & Dingle, G. A. (2015). Extreme metal music and anger processing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, Article 272.
- Schäfer, T., Sedlmeier, P., Städtler, C., & Huron, D. (2013). The psychological functions of music listening. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, Article 511.
- Pelletier, C. L. (2004). The effect of music on decreasing arousal due to stress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Music Therapy, 41(3), 192–214.
- Koelsch, S. (2014). Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15(3), 170–180.
- Juslin, P. N., & Västfjäll, D. (2008). Emotional responses to music: The need to consider underlying mechanisms. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31(5), 559–575.
- Huron, D. (2006). Sweet anticipation: Music and the psychology of expectation. MIT Press.
- Cook, T., Roy, A. R. K., & Welker, K. M. (2019). Music as an emotion regulation strategy: An examination of genres of music and their roles in emotion regulation. Psychology of Music, 47(1), 144–154.
- Chanda, M. L., & Levitin, D. J. (2013). The neurochemistry of music. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17(4), 179–193.
- Bernardi, L., Porta, C., & Sleight, P. (2006). Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory changes induced by different types of music in musicians and non-musicians: The importance of silence. Heart, 92(4), 445–452.
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By Pausing PointIn this episode of Pause Here, we explore how different genres of music can shift your emotions and your nervous system in a real, embodied way, not just “music affects mood” level, but breath, activation, stress recovery, and the inner climate you live in.
You’ll learn why a slower track can create spaciousness, why repetition can feel like a container, and why “calming music” isn’t universal, because your history with sound matters just as much as the sound itself. We explore a few genre contrasts (classical vs metal, pop vs rock, and alternative vs emo) to show how regulation can look like softness… or containment… or catharsis, depending on what your system needs. Lean how to choose the song that meets you where you are, then guides you somewhere better.
Press play, check in, and let your body choose the next track.
- Thoma, M. V., La Marca, R., Brönnimann, R., Finkel, L., Ehlert, U., & Nater, U. M. (2013). The effect of music on the human stress response. PLOS ONE, 8(8), e70156.
- Stewart, J., Garrido, S., Hense, C., & McFerran, K. (2019). Music use for mood regulation: Self-awareness and conscious listening choices in young people with tendencies to depression. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 1199.
- Sharman, L., & Dingle, G. A. (2015). Extreme metal music and anger processing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, Article 272.
- Schäfer, T., Sedlmeier, P., Städtler, C., & Huron, D. (2013). The psychological functions of music listening. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, Article 511.
- Pelletier, C. L. (2004). The effect of music on decreasing arousal due to stress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Music Therapy, 41(3), 192–214.
- Koelsch, S. (2014). Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15(3), 170–180.
- Juslin, P. N., & Västfjäll, D. (2008). Emotional responses to music: The need to consider underlying mechanisms. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31(5), 559–575.
- Huron, D. (2006). Sweet anticipation: Music and the psychology of expectation. MIT Press.
- Cook, T., Roy, A. R. K., & Welker, K. M. (2019). Music as an emotion regulation strategy: An examination of genres of music and their roles in emotion regulation. Psychology of Music, 47(1), 144–154.
- Chanda, M. L., & Levitin, D. J. (2013). The neurochemistry of music. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17(4), 179–193.
- Bernardi, L., Porta, C., & Sleight, P. (2006). Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory changes induced by different types of music in musicians and non-musicians: The importance of silence. Heart, 92(4), 445–452.