Neuroscience Says Music Is an Emotion Regulation Machine. Here’s What to Play for Happiness, Productivity, or Deep Thinking (2025)

Music as “emotion regulation machine”

Neuroscientist Ethan Kross recently explained to The New York Times that he uses his car radio as an “emotion regulation machine” to manage his mood and shift his mindset.

One study of 30,000 people conducted by Daniel Levitin, another neuroscientist and author of the 2006 book This Is Your Brain on Music (Penguin), found listening to music at home made people 11 percent happier and 24 percent less irritable.

“An emerging body of research allows us to take what had been anecdotes and place music on an equal footing with prescription drugs, surgeries, medical procedures, psychotherapy, and various forms of treatment that are mainstream and evidence-based,” writes Levitin, recently summing up the current science of music for Wired.

This is a fascinating scientific confirmation of something many of us realized back in high school when we cranked our favorite sad song to get over a breakup. But this insight alone isn’t terribly practical for adults in the business world. What songs exactly can you use to achieve real-world objectives like greater productivity or a happier frame of mind?

Psychologists, musicologists, and music therapists are on the case. For those looking not just to enjoy music but also use it as a tool to improve their productivity or regulate their emotions, experts have come up with a host of specific (and fun) playlists for nearly every goal you can imagine.

Music for productivity

Take powering through less-than-scintillating tasks. When it comes to music, productivity science has a simple suggestion — just listen to whatever music you like best.

One recent study showed that when offices played music that didn’t match with employees’ preferences, the employees performed worse on the job and felt more mentally exhausted. “It is a mistake for managers to assume that music doesn’t affect employees,” commented one of the study’s lead authors, Kathleen Keeler.As writer Jory Mackay reported in Quartz, the best music to listen to for productivity is whatever you enjoy: “When it comes to repetitive or boring tasks, as long as you’re listening to something, you’ll get them done faster.”

Looking for some inspiration for what to play? Spotify has helpfully curated a playlist of songsmost likely to appear on “productivity” playlists created by listeners.

Music for creativity

If you’re staring at a blank page and hoping for some inspiration, science has a much more specific suggestion for you. When psychologist Emma Gray teamed up with Spotify to study what music was best for certain tasks a few years back, she found a very specific tempo is best for creativity.

“It is important that the music is in the range of 50-80 beats per minute as this can help to induce the alpha state where the mind is calm but alert, imagination stimulated and concentration heightened,” Gray explained.

A huge number of songs fall in this range, from “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio to Katy Perry’s “Firework.” There should be choices to suit just about every taste. Spotify has lists of classical, pop, and indie songs within this range of tempos to help you out.

Music for happiness

You probably don’t need science to tell you that music can improve your mood, but if you do, it exists. “This recent systematic review and meta-analysis (a study of studies) showed that the use of music interventions (listening to music, singing, and music therapy) can create significant improvements in mental health,” reports Harvard Health.

What songs are the biggest happiness boosters? Here’s a list created by a group of music therapists specifically to improve your mood. Or you could go with the findings of Dutch neurologist Jacob Jolij who asked the public to submit their happiest songs and then analyzed the results for patterns.

He found the most cheerful music was uptempo (between 140 and 150 beats per minute on average), written in a major key, and either about happy events or complete nonsense. This is his playlist of the happiest songs ever.

Music for brainpower

Can music make you smarter? Maybe a little bit, but it depends on what you mean by smarter. If you’re trying to learn something difficult, studies show your best bet is probably actually silence as music tends to distract from the material. If you’re desperate for some background music, then go with something instrumental.

“Students who revised [that’s British for studied] in quiet environments performed more than 60 percent better in an exam than their peers who revised while listening to music that had lyrics,” reports the U.K. Guardian.

In other types of situations, however, music may be able to give your brain a boost. Those same helpful music therapists have also come up with playlists they say can improve memory (lots of oldies, so I’m guessing it’s geared for those with a few gray hairs) and even encourage your brain to grow more neural connections for greater intelligence.

Choose your music thoughtfully

The overall point here is that music really is medicine. The right tune can alter your entire frame of mind, giving you a fresh perspective on your day and boosting your productivity. Choose wisely when you queue up some songs. Science is clear that what you play will have a big effect on how you feel and perform.