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One powerful, often underestimated tool for enhancing our wellbeing is music.

Whether you’re working at your desk, commuting to campus, or winding down after a long day, music can be a transformative companion.

Research shows that music can have a profound impact on our emotional and physical wellbeing by:

• Reducing stress: Listening to calming music can lower cortisol levels and slow heart rate, helping you feel more relaxed.
• Improving your sleep: Calming music at bedtime can help reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, increase sleep duration, and improve sleep quality.
• Boosting mood: Upbeat music can trigger the release of dopamine, the brain’s ‘feel-good’ chemical.
• Enhancing focus and productivity: Instrumental or ambient music can enhance concentration, especially during repetitive or creative tasks.
• Encouraging movement: Music with a strong rhythm can motivate physical activity.
• Fostering connection: Sharing playlists or attending live music events can strengthen social bonds and create a sense of community.

Practical ways to use music at work

Here are a few ideas to integrate music into your daily routine:

• Start your day with a ‘mood boosting’ playlist to set a positive tone
• Use instrumental music during focused work sessions to reduce distractions
• Create a shared playlist with your team to build connection and discover new songs

Loughborough University staff playlist

We asked Loughborough staff to tell us about a song that makes them feel happy, calm, energised, or motivated. Here’s what they shared:

• Lilia Boukikova, Internal Communications Assistant: ‘Dive’ by Olivia Dean – “I love this song, it’s super upbeat and makes me smile!”
• Dr Ana Cristina Suzina, Lecturer in Media and Creative Industries: ‘The Little Train of the Caipira’ by Heitor Villa-Lobos – “It’s a piece of music that energises and moves me. If I am not able to move my body when I listen to it, it does not matter. I feel my soul dancing anyway.”
• Surya Mahdi, Teaching Associate: ‘Aja’ by Steely Dan – “It calms me when listening to it.”
• Sarah Van-Zoelen, Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing: “I love running to anything by Sam Fender.”
• Bryony Stewart-Seume, Programme Quality Officer: ‘Ladybird’ by Natalie Merchant – “Any Natalie Merchant song fits the brief, as it doesn’t matter what mood I am in; her music always complements or lifts it, but ‘Ladybird’ is the epitome of this. It starts reasonably quietly, but by the end I am conducting the string quartet in its rousing finale. It lifts me, it motivates me, and it caresses my soul.”
• Rebecca Higginson, Reader in Metallurgy and Materials Engineering and Associate Dean for EDI: ‘Fields of gold’ by Sting – “It makes me feel calm.”
• Thomas Steffen, Reader in Control of Energy Systems: ‘Read my sign’ by Bell, Book and Candle – “For me it has to be metal. That may not sound relaxing, but it is. Just a matter of taste.”
• Anne Souchon, Professor of International Marketing: ‘Pump It’ by Black Eyed Peas – “For pumping iron (pun intended) in the gym!”
• Courtney Reed, Lecturer in Digital Technologies and Creative Futures: ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra – “I just love the positivity of the beat and the lyrics of the song, even at the end when of course the blue sky does have to fade away, its memory is still there. I can’t help but to jump around a bit or do some ‘running down the avenue’ when I hear it. Great for road trips!”

Get involved with music at Loughborough

LU Arts offer a variety of opportunities for staff to engage with music including:

• Seven music practice rooms on campus which are free to use and open every day from 8am-10pm (to access these music rooms you need to join the Music VIP club)
• Music short courses, one-off workshops and live music nights which take place throughout the year, keep an eye out for these events on the LU Arts events page
• The University Choir, open to staff, students and members of the public to join, they rehearse on Monday evenings during term time and put on two concerts each year
• Music tuition, available for beginners and advanced musicians, LU Arts currently offer tuition in clarinet, flute, guitar (acoustic, electric and bass), piano, saxophone, singing, violin, viola and other woodwind