Listening to music for 24 minutes may ease anxiety, study finds

A short music session may help ease anxiety and researchers say there’s a “sweet spot” for how long to listen.

A clinical trial found that listening to specially designed music for 24 minutes can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms. The music was paired with auditory beat stimulation (ABS), a type of sound pattern meant to influence brain activity.

The study, led by researchers at Toronto Metropolitan University, included 144 adults with moderate anxiety. All were already taking medication to manage their symptoms.

Researchers wanted to see whether listening to music with ABS could offer extra relief and how long people needed to listen to get the best results.

Participants were divided into four groups. Each group listened to a different type or length of sound:

• Pink noise for 24 minutes (used as a control)
• Music with ABS for 12 minutes
• Music with ABS for 24 minutes
• Music with ABS for 36 minutes

Before and after listening, participants completed tests to measure anxiety and mood.

Compared with pink noise, which sounds like a waterfall, rain or ocean waves, the results showed that music with ABS helped reduce both cognitive and physical symptoms of anxiety. (Examples of cognitive symptoms include uncontrollable thoughts and trouble concentrating, while physical symptoms may manifest as nausea or chest pain.)

People also reported feeling less negative after listening to music with ABS.

The 24-minute session showed the strongest overall results. It worked just as well as the 36-minute session and better than the 12-minute version.

“What we’re seeing is a dose-response pattern where about 24 minutes of music with ABS seems to be the sweet spot,” said study co-author Frank Russo, a psychology professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.

“It’s long enough to meaningfully shift anxiety levels, but not so long that listeners need to carve out a large block of time,” he added in a news release.

Anxiety affects millions of people worldwide, researchers said. Common treatments include medication and therapy, but these options can take time, cost money or cause side effects.

Researchers say music-based tools could offer a simple, low-cost way to help people manage symptoms.

The study was recently published in the journal PLOS Mental Health.

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