Music & Mental Health

As you may have seen on our social media posts (if not follow us right now), Lucy recently took part in a Firewalk (queue the Firestarter jokes). The fundraising firewalk took place in aid of Oakleaf, a mental health charity based in Guildford, helping adults suffering from mental ill-health back into the workplace. 

It got us thinking about the benefits of music on your mental health and how we can use it as a tool to give you that feel good factor. There are so many things you can say about music and mental health. As music lovers we obviously know the benefits of music on our own wellbeing but studies have actually shown the effect is wider than that. In a study in 2013 researchers found that dopamine (the feel good chemical in your brain), was up to 9% higher when volunteers listened to music that they enjoyed. I know that especially for me, if I am having a crappy day, I can always count on good playlist to get me out of a rut. It’s not just listening to your Spotify playlist that can help, but a study in 2018 suggested that live music can help increase internal sense of emotional wellbeing. Live music goers reported a 25% increase in feelings of self worth, a 25% increase in closeness to others and a 75% in mental stimulation. 

The benefits don’t stop at just listening to music, “Music was my refuge,” the writer Maya Angelou once said. “I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.” Song-writing is a fantastic outlet for so many musicians. Whether it’s love songs, upbeat, downbeat or somewhere inbetween, the best songs are the ones where you can connect with the story, and that sense of connection can be so powerful not just for the writer but for the listener too. Sam Fender’s latest album Hypersonic Missles (which we can’t stop listening to in the office), was a way for him to express his grief over losing a friend to suicide. Since then he has gone on to speak about how many people have reached out to him because they felt so connected to the lyrics.  

We are not trying to say that music can change the world … okay fine we kinda are … but music is definitely a super powerful tool to help get you feeling back to you. Here at Lemon we have put together our Feel Good Playlist to get you up and dancing and you can check out our performers to get your live-music fix.

Georgia @ Lemon

RECENT STORIES