Blasting music in a car with friends is what we need as students
Research suggests that listening to music in the company of friends is a great tool to relieve stress and anxiety.
It’s been a stressful week. Your friends invite you out and at first you hesitate, because you’re totally exhausted, but you decide to go anyway. As you and your friends drive around, blasting music and singing along to throwback hits, the vibes are immaculate. Everything melts away. For a moment, you’re in paradise. Your head is clear, and you just feel like you. You’re living in the moment.
We’ve all felt this way before, but why? Why is a drive with friends and music so calming? What about the atmosphere makes stress and worry melt away?
According to an article by the University of Nevada, it is found that music can make people feel more optimistic and positive. It can also relax and soothe you, depending on the tempo. As an effective remedy for stress, music is exactly what you need during a long and gruelling semester.
Additionally, when you combine the boost that music gives you with the company of your friends, you’re bound for an even brighter outcome. In an article by Huffpost, it is reported that being in the company of your closest friends is the recipe for reducing stress and uplifting your spirits.
Now more than ever, as we find ourselves cooped up at home, faced by burnout from online school and social distancing measures, estranged from the routines that we once had, and struggling to establish new ones, stress is at an all-time high.
Based on the research, here’s what we can do: a spontaneous outing with friends, or, music. Better yet – both.
Besides it being calming, putting yourself in a new environment and engaging with a different atmosphere than the one in your room is exactly what you need to take your mind off things. It gives you the chance to live in the moment instead of anticipating what’s to come and what has passed.
With the midterm season quickly approaching, many of us are left feeling anxious and worried about the future. Let’s take the chance to engage in spontaneous acts, to shed some weight off the future, and feel like ourselves again.
Personally, I found myself benefitting from spontaneity and music in ways greater than I could imagine. Right before a huge test, I have a small playlist lined up. I connect my speaker, blast it, then immerse myself in the words and beat. For a moment, the stress and anxiety don’t have a hold on me anymore. The takeaway? I go into the test calm and level-headed.
Although the pandemic may not permit us to really get out and do what we want with our friends, there are always ways to experiment. Finding what works for you may be trial and error, but once you find it, you’ve struck stress-free gold.
Opinion Editor (Volume 49) | opinion@themedium.ca — Kareena is a third-year student completing a double-major in Criminology and Socio-Legal Studies and Philosophy, and minoring in Forensic Science. She has previously served as the Associate Opinion Editor for Volume 48. Through her involvement and contributions with The Medium, Kareena hopes to foster a safe and trusted space, while encouraging others to let their voices and stories be heard. When Kareena is not writing or studying, you can find her watching true crime mysteries or cooking.