The Power of Music To Reduce Stress

The soothing power of music is well-established. It has a unique link to our emotions, so can be an extremely effective stress management tool.

Listening to music can have a tremendously relaxing effect on our minds and bodies, especially slow, quiet classical music. This type of 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.

As music can absorb our attention, it acts as a distraction at the same time it helps to explore emotions. This means it can be a great aid to meditation, helping to prevent the mind wandering.

Musical preference varies widely between individuals, so only you can decide what you like and what is suitable for each mood. But even if you don’t usually listen to classical music it may be worth giving it a try when selecting the most calming music.

When people are very stressed, there is a tendency to avoid actively listening to music. Perhaps it feels like a waste of time, not helping to achieve anything. But as we know, productivity increases when stress is reduced, so this is another area where you can gain vast rewards. It just takes a small effort to begin with.

To incorporate music into a busy life, try playing CDs in the car, or put the radio on when in the bath or shower. Take portable music with you when walking the dog, or put the stereo on instead of the TV.

Singing (or shouting) along can also be a great release of tension, and karaoke is very enjoyable for some extroverts! Calming music before bedtime promotes peace and relaxation and helps to inducesleep.

Research on Music

Music has been used for hundreds of years to treat illnesses and restore harmony between mind and body. But recently, scientific studies have attempted to measure the potential benefits of music. They have found:

• Music’s form and structure can bring order and security to disabled and distressed children. It encourages coordination and communication, so improves their quality of life.
• Listening to music on headphones reduces stress and anxiety in hospital patients before and after surgery.
• Music can help reduce both the sensation and distress of both chronic pain and postoperative pain.
• Listening to music can relieve depression and increase self-esteem ratings in elderly people.
• Making music can reduce burnout and improve mood among nursing students.
• Music therapy significantly reduces emotional distress and boosts quality of life among adult cancer patients.

Meditation

Certain music is appropriate for meditation as it can help the mind slow down and initiate the relaxation response. However, not all peaceful or “New Age” music works for everyone. Music with no structure can be irritating or even unsettling. Gentle music with a familiar melody more often is comforting. But search around to find what produces a sense of calm, familiarity, and centeredness for you as an individual.

The sounds of nature often are incorporated into CDs made specifically for relaxation. For example, the sound of water can be soothing for some people. It can help conjure up calming images such as lying beside a mountain stream on a warm spring day. Birdsong may also be of use as an aid to help your mind slow down and release stressful thoughts.

People have different ways of escaping the stress and difficulties of modern life. Some read; some exercise; others work in their gardens.

In my opinion, music, as opposed to other ways of recreation, is the best way of dealing with stress. Generally I think all art is good for people, but I believe that this form of art provides a profound way of release and helps us clean ourselves from the stresses of modern life. For one, playing or listening to music takes relaxed concentration which, albeit momentarily, relieves us from stress. The sound that we hear playing, or better yet, the sound that we hear ourselves playing is invigorating. As an ardent lover and player of music myself, I experience firsthand the awesome feeling music gives. When i play the piano or the guitar, or hear it being played, I experience a sense of accomplishment and peace that nothing else gives me.

How To Deal With Stress

         Students life is not as easy as it seems first. When you enter the university after school, you might be shocked by the amount of different tasks and demands you will be asked to accomplish there.

The ability to be focused and disciplined, to remember a large amount of information in a short time, to organize a day in the right way, to learn the rules of communication with many new people, to make right decisions in a variety of situations – all these skills require a large exposure, emotional stress, panic, and internal resistance from a student.

Such a pressure and excessive demands may easily cause a stress and nervous breakdown with many negative consequences: body organs and systems disorder, chronic diseases exacerbation, unwillingness to study and interact with other students, etc.

When it comes to tests, exams or essay writing, a student becomes even more sensitive and vulnerable: a large flow of information to deal with, all those requirements and deadlines can unsettle everyone. Are there any ways to help students here? How can they deal with this stress in college? Are there any chances to reduce this pressure from exams and essay writing?

Here are some methods to deal with stress from studying for every modern student:

1. Self-discipline is a key

Yes, when you are a student it is difficult to resist a temptation of trying everything that students life has for you: new friends, entertainments, parties... And when it comes to essay writing, you suddenly understand that you will not be able to meet all deadlines. Or, what is even worse, you decide to postpone all useful organizers and the process of your essay writing till the very last night, what you believe will be enough to compose a quite good essay worth a good grade.

Do not do that! Self-discipline is your key here. Learn to manage your time and try to get the main point here: study first, party afterward. No one will die if you spend a couple of hours on your essay writing and join their wing-ding a little bit later.

2. Take a walk every day

Fine, you are not a party-goer. You spend much time on studying, you do all tasks, you are always ready to spend hours in libraries, and all your grades are no less than A's. But it does not mean, that you will not feel yourself stressful when time to write essays and pass exams comes. It is not about lack of time anymore, it's about your physical condition.

It is not good for your health and mental condition to spend all the time indoors. Your brain needs oxygen to work good and think clearly. It will not be able to process information if you do not give it any rest. So, take a walk every day to clear your mind, and you will see how easier the process of studying will become.

3. Sleep no less than 8 hours per day (and do this at night!)

Such our nature is, that we should sleep no less than 8 hours to get strengths and energy for new achievements. Moreover, we should do that at night! So, if you do not want to give your stress any chances, do not study on nights, do not spend all nights long at parties if you have important classes or exams the next morning.

Good sleep is a guarantee of your clear mind and energy to strive for new achievements in study. Essay writing, tests, and exams do not look so awful and dangerous, when you are rested.

4. Communicate with friends in your free time

When you are stressed (no matter whether it comes to your study or not), there is no need to stay alone all the time. Meet your friends in spare time, tell them what you feel, discuss your problems with them. If they study at the same college with you, and if they have the same tasks with you, it will be much easier for you to deal with stress, because you will see that you are not the only student who has such problems and tries to deal with them.  

Moreover, you can always help each other and do all tasks together where it is possible.

5. Try to find positive moments in every situation

This is more philosophical than practical advice, but it really works for many people, not students only. Do not consider essays, tests and exams anything bad or awful that prevents you from living full life. Think of some positive things you can get from this period (even stress can have its benefits actually): you will learn something new, improve your writing skills, become more disciplined and concentrated, etc.

6. Learn how to manage your time right

It is much easier to do that it seems first. Actually, it is very important for a student to know some basics of time management to be in time with both rest and study. Just try to distinguish exact time for study, let it be 2-3 hours per day for example. It might seem quite difficult first, especially if you are a party-goer or just a lazy person, who prefer watching TV or spending all time on social networks online. Show your willpower, prove yourself that you can do that, and you will be surprised to find out how much time you have to deal with everything!

7. Go in for sports

Active physical exercises help you get stress hormones out of your organism. That is why you have no reasons to ignore sports while studying at college or university. Even 1 hour in a gym per week can improve your condition much. Moreover, your mood will be better, and you will feel strengths and energy to deal with every task given. 

We work hard at our jobs or our school and stress is unavoidable in this busy life.In order to get rid of stress ,the first step is to identify the cause.The solutions depend on the causes.My solutions against stress is to talk with my friends,to rest ,and to go to shopping.

I always choose to talk with my close friends when I am stressed by a dispute with my family or my boss.My friends give me the possibility to understand the problem from other points of views.They tell me their experiences if they have encountered the same situation,and I can find out the best solution to my problem.Finding the solution,I have no stress.Moreover,we talk about many other things,for example ,about our hobbies,and I forget my stress.

When I am stressed by my work,it is easy to get rid of it.I have just to take some rest.Sometimes I choose to take a break and do some chore.Other times I get to sleep for one or two hours ,or I take a short walk in my house yard.These methods to escape from stress work always in work-related stress.It can be cured just by getting away from work for a while.

Shopping is my best method to reduce the stress.It works in all situations.I like to look at the beautiful things in the stores.There are many people around me and this helps me deviate my low spirits.Usually I buy something to decorate my room or some clothes.Anyway,this method might endanger my banking account ,if I choose it too often.

It is important to try to lead a stress-free life.I can avoid stress by talking to my friends, getting some rest, or by shopping.These are my best ways to escape from stress.

Put in the correct question tags for each sentence.

1. John smokes a lot,  ?

2. My mother has lovely hair,  ?

3. You do like this film we're watching,  ?

4. He can't speak English very well,  ?

5. Your brother isn't married,  ?

6. She doesn't cook very well,  ?

7. We can go to the cinema tomorrow if you want,  ?

8. They don't have a very nice house,  ?

9. She is the richest woman in the town,  ?

10. We should leave before it gets dark,  ?

11. You'd like a cup of tea,  ?

12. They mustn't go too near the lake,  ?

13. You'll see John tomorrow,  ?

14. We won't be going to that restaurant again,  ?

15. Let's try and phone her again,  ?

16. You've seen this film already,  ?

17. Your uncle has never been out of the village,  ?

18. You're seeing Amy next week,  ?

19. I'm not speaking first at the meeting,  ?

20. This was an interesting exercise,  ?Конец формы

Скачано с www.znanio.ru