Music-facilitated Relaxation in Adolescents

Subjective and Physiological Responses

Authors

  • Gulnara Minkkinen Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body & Brain, Department of Music, Art, and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
  • Josefiina Pajunen Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body & Brain, Department of Music, Art, and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
  • Esa Ala-Ruona Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body & Brain, Department of Music, Art, and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
  • Suvi Saarikallio Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body & Brain, Department of Music, Art, and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v26i2.4186

Keywords:

music, music for relaxation, self-selected music, heart rate variability, music genre, personal relationship to music, music-facilitated relaxation

Abstract

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 subjective
and 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.

Funding

The 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.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank our project coordinator Markku Pöyhönen and research assistant TittaMarianne Tiihonen for their help in data collection for this study.

Research Data

The 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 Interest

The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

 

Author Biographies

Gulnara Minkkinen, Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body & Brain, Department of Music, Art, and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Gulnara Minkkinen, MA, graduated with a Master of Arts from the University of Jyväskylä in 2018 majoring in Music Therapy. She was a PhD researcher at the University of Jyväskylä 2021-2024.

Josefiina Pajunen, Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body & Brain, Department of Music, Art, and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Josefiina Pajunen, MA, is a music educator and a musician. She is currently working as a music teacher teaching general music to adolescents in Finnish middle and uppersecondary schools. She holds her Master’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Jyväskylä and also holds a Bachelor of Cultural Studies (Music) from the JAMK University of Applied Sciences.

Esa Ala-Ruona, Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body & Brain, Department of Music, Art, and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Esa Ala-Ruona, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Music Therapy at the Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. He is a music therapist and integrative psychotherapist (advanced level) working as a researcher, clinical teacher, and supervisor at the JYU Music Therapy Clinic for Research and Training. His research interests are in music therapy assessment and evaluation, and in studying therapeutic interaction, meaning making and clinical processes in multimodal music therapy. His special expertise lies on creating therapy and training models, as well as clinical practice of integrative music psychotherapy, and vibroacoustic therapy.

Suvi Saarikallio, Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body & Brain, Department of Music, Art, and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Suvi Saarikallio, PhD, is a Professor of Music Education at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Saarikallio is the PI for the Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain and leads an ERC-funded project MUSICONNECT on music for youth empowerment. Saarikallio studies music in relation to emotions, identity, youth development, and mental health and actively publishes across the fields of music psychology, music education, and music therapy. She is the acting President of ESCOM and the European commissioner for the ISME Research Commission.

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4186-Minkkinen et al. Photos: G. Minkkinen/ M.Hämäläinen/P.Kivimäki

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Published

2026-07-01

How to Cite

Minkkinen, G., Pajunen, J., Ala-Ruona, E., & Saarikallio, S. (2026). Music-facilitated Relaxation in Adolescents: Subjective and Physiological Responses. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 26(2). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v26i2.4186

Issue

Vol. 26 No. 2 (2026)

Section

Research

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Copyright (c) 2026 Gulnara Minkkinen, Josefiina Pajunen, Esa Ala-Ruona, Suvi Saarikallio

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