Why can sounds alter a persons mood?

Question

Why can sounds alter a persons mood?

Answer 1

I know when I hear sounds like the sea crashing in on  a beach and ebbing away again makes me feel safe and relaxed ..however this wouldnt be universal because of individual perceptions and social enviroment to which they grew up with or had some trauma with, eg., post traumatic disorder, often many WW1 soldiers came back and the sound of a gun going off was enought to trigger an anxiety attack......sounds evoke emotion attactments of present and past and can even set your emotion up for the day.....it's like when you hear a song on the radio you havent heard for awhile and it makes you think of people, places and even smells and sentiment...it has been long regarded that classical music soothes the soul and can help students concentrate on their studies with music such as Chopin, Brahms and Strausss playing....but remember not everyone can hear....so other sensory things like touch and sight also play an importnat role

Answer 2

Look for a book called "Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy" by Jourdain.  It describes neuro-chemical reactions of the brain to music and should provide some insight into biological theories for the reasons that sounds affect us.  There are other theories, but that's a good book to start with becuase it provides a lot of evidence for what it discusses.

Answer 3

Because pleasing sounds such as music, trigger right-brain activity which can be relaxing...

Generally, work that we are paid to do, requires left-brain attention...