Health tip

Press "Play" for a Better Mood

Want to feel less stressed? Happier? More energetic? Spend more time with your stereo.

A small study suggests that music typically affects people’s emotions for the better.

Melodic Mood Makeovers

Study participants who reported hearing music 37 percent of the time during a 1-week period were clearly influenced by the tunes they experienced. Most of the time, the music influenced how they felt, often making people feel happy or nostalgic. Can "bad" moods be contagious? Find out.

More Than the Sound of Music

Other factors -- such as the personality of the listeners, whether they were alone or with friends during music exposure, and how much they liked the music -- did play a role in the music-induced emotional responses. But the emotions were most often positive and tended to match the motivation of the listeners. For example, listening to music to relax, to counter boredom, or to boost energy tended to lead to the desired response. Check out these other musically induced health benefits:

■Listen for pain relief. Here’s how music can ease physical aches, too.
■Take the toil out of exercise. Music makes exercise a whole lot easier.
■Sharpen your noggin. Discover how music may make you smarter.