How to Use Music to Ease Anxiety

Listen Up: Research supports the idea that music can help regulate emotions and reduce anxiety and stress. A new randomized controlled study builds on this, indicating that specialized music could be used to create a calm emotional state. 

In the study, 83 undergraduate students with anxiety symptoms listened to 24 minutes of either a personal playlist embedded with low-frequency tones (called auditory beat stimulation, or ABS) or steady pink noise. While both groups reported feeling less stressed after listening, the music/ABS group experienced a larger drop in cortisol. 

How to Do It: You may not be able to embed your music with ABS, but you can try another technique called the “iso principle”: choose tunes that match your current mood (even if you’re tense or upset), then gradually transition into calmer music to ease into a relaxed state. Set aside intentional listening minutes instead of just playing music in the background. And give it some time: the study suggests that the biggest cortisol drops occur around 15 minutes after a listening session ends.

The Benefits: This technique is not a clinically validated treatment for anxiety and should not replace therapy or medication, but it can serve as a tool to help you feel more calm.