Exploring the Environmental Manifestation of Types of Music on Reinforcing Mindfulness and Concurrent Calorie Intake

Abstract

Background The role of music on energy intake is conflicting, and recent research has suggested a positive association between classical music listening and mindfulness. Objective The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of music, specifically classical music on state mindfulness and calorie intake of energy-dense foods. Method One hundred participants were randomly assigned to either a classical, popular or no music condition, and were served a variety of sweet (i.e., chocolate and cookies) and savoury (i.e., crisps) energy-dense foods. Results: The results found no significant differences in state mindfulness, overall calorie intake, or intake of sweet foods across the three conditions. However, participants in the classical music condition did consume significantly less savoury food than those in the no music condition. Conclusion Playing classical music may be beneficial in reducing intake of savoury foods, but not through the association to changes in state mindfulness. Future research should explore extended sessions of music listening on state mindfulness and other experiential evaluations of mindfulness to conclude on the direct and indirect effects of music on sweet and savoury foods.

The Relationship between Music and Food Intake: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…It has also been demonstrated that different types of music distinctly impact the relationship between music and food intake. For example, rock music has correlated with increased consumption of alcohol [ 36 ], while classical music appears to help reduce the intake of savory foods [ 37 ]. People also tend to spend more money at a restaurant when classical or jazz music is playing rather than pop music or no music at all [ 38 ].…”

Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Musical Aesthetic Emotion Processing

“…Music could thus certainly offer highly effective and pleasurable tools to further promote well-being and health (Vuilleumier and Trost, 2015 ; Lynch and Wilson, 2017 ; Sorensen et al, 2018 ; Menninghaus et al, 2019 ). In the future, in-depth research on the effects of mindfulness meditation training on aesthetic emotion will be conducive to a better understanding of the functioning and cultivation of a healthy mind (Hölzel et al, 2011b ; Bueno et al, 2015 ; Loo et al, 2020 ; Misba et al, 2020 ).…”

“…It includes two components, namely, regulating the attention of an individual to maintain the immediate experience and approaching the experiences of an individual with curiosity, openness, and acceptance (Lei et al, 2016). The nonjudgment and openness experience induced by state mindfulness meditation are highly related to body awareness (Brown and Ryan, 2003;Diaz, 2013;Rodríguez-Carvajal and Lecuona, 2014;Clark et al, 2015;Anderson, 2016;Loo et al, 2020;Misba et al, 2020). Temporary mindfulness meditation training, as a relaxed state of enhanced self-regulation, effectively induces the openness of individuals to experience and non-judging of inner experience by individuals, thereby improving emotion processing (Bishop, 2004;Tan et al, 2014;Bueno et al, 2015;Lei et al, 2016).…”

“…Retrospective evaluation has generally been used to measure the behavioral characteristics of the participants in the experimental research into MAEP (Zentner et al, 2008 ; Trost et al, 2012 ; Vuoskoski and Eerola, 2012 , 2017 ; Silvia et al, 2015 ). However, most of the previous empirical studies have focused on exploring causality or correlation between musical noumena and MAEP, paying little attention to the influence of mindfulness meditation on MAEP (Baylan et al, 2018 ; Scherer et al, 2019 ; Hernandez-Ruiz and Dvorak, 2020 ; Loo et al, 2020 ; Misba et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Mindfulness meditation, as a state, trait, or clinical intervention, has been widely used in emotion regulation, attention, psychotherapy, and clinical medicine, among other fields (Brown and Ryan, 2003 ; Sahdra et al, 2011 ; Singh et al, 2014 ; Bueno et al, 2015 ; Zanesco et al, 2016 ; Zanesco, 2017 ; Andreu et al, 2019 ; Bailey et al, 2019 ). It has brought many positive effects to people, such as regulated negative emotions, enhanced self-awareness, improved well-being, enhanced psychological function, and reduced stress symptoms, and improved cognitive recovery (Brown and Ryan, 2003 ; Rodríguez-Carvajal and Lecuona, 2014 ; Tomaselli, 2014 ; Anderson, 2016 ; Bell et al, 2016 ; Baylan et al, 2018 ; Sorensen et al, 2018 ; Loo et al, 2020 ; Misba et al, 2020 ). Previous studies have shown a certain relationship between mindfulness meditation and specific music activities (Rodríguez-Carvajal and Lecuona, 2014 ).…”