The Psychological Benefits of Nostalgic Music

Nostalgia consists of the mixture of pleasure coming from the memory of something lived (e.g., childhood, relationships), and the pain caused by that event being gone forever. Students graduating from college tend to feel both happy and sad. Nostalgia is universal, innately human, and felt frequently by people of all ages (Routledge, 2015).

Nostalgia is mostly a positive emotional experience that involves reflections on cherished memories (weddings, graduations, holiday celebrations, and vacations). And provides numerous psychological benefits. Recalling a pleasurable experience (e.g., family vacations or Thanksgiving holidays) can trigger the same original emotions we felt in the past and provide a nostalgic pleasure. Positive emotion can motivate people to seek out nostalgia.

Music can transport the listener to past times and places of their life, as well as to the attached emotions. Listening to a piece of music that was played a lot during a significant life event (e.g., a family celebration) many years ago can trigger a deeply nostalgic emotional experience. The feeling is not in the music, but in what it reminds us. A song can unlock all kinds of feelings (Sedikides et al., 2021).

The memories of nostalgia are not always good. Those who have experienced significant trauma might be triggered by nostalgic music to recall painful memories. For example, in the movie Casablanca, where Rick forbids his bar pianist Sam ever to play “As Time Goes By” because of the unbearable feelings of sadness and loss he remembers through the song.

We tend to remember things that happened to us in our adolescence and early adulthood more than at any other time of our lives. According to the reminiscence bump phenomenon, events that took place during adolescence or early adulthood are particularly memorable in later life (Jakubowski, 2021).

The music of our teen years and early 20s tends to stick with us and evoke strong memories when we hear it again. Listening to the same songs over and over during this period can make them stick for a long time. For older people music-evoked nostalgia can bring about a sense of youthfulness and a feeling of empowerment.

Nostalgia can be considered a self-regulatory tool that people frequently use to boost their mood when feeling down (Sedikides, 2015). When the present moment is stressful, nostalgia offers relief. This may explain why during times of transition or challenge, people are more likely to experience nostalgia, which may help regulate their emotions. For example, during the COVID lockdowns, people were nostalgic for seeing a movie in a theatre or getting lunch with a friend.

Music-evoked nostalgia has the potential to act as a buffer against daily stresses and can stave off loneliness and enhance well-being. For example, watching an old movie or listening to the music that we enjoyed in high school can help to increase our ability to self-soothe during a stressful time. As a temporary escape, nostalgia can take us to a simpler time of fewer worries and obligations.

Moreover, research shows that nostalgia tends to make people feel more socially connected (Wildschut, 2018). Thinking fondly of old times with loved ones, it’s a way of bringing them closer, even though they may be physically distant or perhaps they are no longer together. For example, couples with a special song (or a song with meaningful lyrics) that reminds them of an important moment in their relationship will have a stronger bond (Baird, 2019).

In sum, nostalgia is a powerful tool that helps individuals cope with life’s stressors. Reflecting on personally meaningful and cherished memories plays a crucial role in helping us to cope with stress. When we experience a negative mood, we can deliberately seek to listen to a nostalgic song to benefit from the mood-elevating capacity of nostalgia.

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