Music-facilitated Relaxation in Adolescents

Music is a common resource for adolescents, but relatively few studies have empirically investigated adolescents’ use of music for relaxation. This study aimed to answer the following questions: (1) Does self-selected music promote relaxation (at both subjectiveand physiological levels) in adolescents? (2) How does the listening setting (the length of listening and the content of music selection) relate to the relaxation response? Twenty-six adolescents had a twenty-minute long individual relaxation session with selfchosen music in two consecutive years. Participants assessed their Valence, Arousal, and Tension pre and post sessions, and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) was recorded throughout the sessions. Music was reported by participants in a free form. Results showed a significant increase in Valence, decrease in Tension, and increase in the HRV, indicating a significant relaxation response for the music listening. This physiological response was reached already after 5 minutes of listening. Participants with stronger relaxation response showed a stronger within-individual stability in responsiveness to music and tended to describe their music in greater detail than those with weaker relaxation response. This indicates that an in-depth personal relationship to music fosters musicfacilitated relaxation. Music-facilitated relaxation is a cost-efficient and individually adaptable approach for stress reduction. Our findings provide support for the efficacy of music-facilitated relaxation for adolescents. While the definition of relaxation is explored, the concept of personal relationship to music deserves further examination in future research. FundingThe current study received financial support from Research Council of Finland (project numbers 136358, 316912, 346210) and European Union (ERC, MUSICONNECT, 101045747). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. AcknowledgementsWe wish to thank our project coordinator Markku Pöyhönen and research assistant TittaMarianne Tiihonen for their help in data collection for this study. Research DataThe data is of sensitive nature and contains health-related information. Data sharing consent was not asked at the point of data collection. Specific anonymised parts of the data can be provided upon a special request. Conflicts of InterestThe Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.