If you take medication to treat anxiety, that medication can come with its own set of anxiety-inducing side effects while also costing you a pretty penny if your insurance is not up to snuff. A new clinical trial suggests you might be able to supplement your anxiety treatment with something significantly less stressful that you probably already indulge in: listening to music, specifically when paired with a subtle auditory track meant to nudge the brain into calming itself down.
Published this month in PLOS Mental Health, researchers in Toronto and the UK studied 144 people who were taking at least one medication for anxiety. Participants were randomly assigned either to listen to pink noise (a steady, waterfall-like hiss used as a control) or to music combined with auditory beat stimulation, or ABS, a technique that plays slightly different tones to each ear to create a rhythmic pulse. Listening sessions lasted 12, 24, or 36 minutes.
People who listened to music with ABS reported significantly reduced anxiety compared to those who just heard noise. The longer participants did it, the better, but the researchers did identify a sweet spot of 24 minutes. That’s long enough to lower anxiety but short enough to squeeze it into a normal day without self-care tipping into the chore category.
According to lead author Frank Russo of Toronto Metropolitan University, the results point to a “dose–response” pattern, where the right amount of music can meaningfully shift anxiety levels without demanding major lifestyle changes.
Obviously, this isn’t a cure for anxiety. The effect, while present, was only moderate, and the researchers stress that larger studies are needed, but try telling that to someone suffering from an anxiety disorder who’s desperate to make the distressing hum of stress go away. Music with a little auditory stimulation mix, then, might be an inexpensive, low-risk, and easily deployable supplement. That alone might make it worth getting a shot.
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