These songs are specifically designed to reduce stress and anxiety

Get your headphones ready

Music is the go to stress reliever for most Australians, but the type of music you listen to can make a difference. Here are the songs specifically designed to help you destress.

We’re encouraged to try so many different exercises when we’re stressed or anxious. Eat certain foods, do these stretches, try breathing exercises, light exposure, and drink swaps – wouldn’t it be nice if destressing was as easy as listening to a song? It could be. 

We already know music can affect our mood based on how happy we feel screaming the lyrics to our favourite songs.

According to Body+Soul’s Health of the Nation report, listening to music is the most popular coping strategy when dealing with stress, with 40 per cent of Australians putting their headphones on to soothe their minds and bodies.

There are a bunch of brain benefits that come from listening to music, including:

#1. Triggering a release of serotonin and endorphins

#2. Reducing cortisol levels

#3. Activating your parasympathetic nervous system

#4. Moderating your heart rate

#5. Providing a distraction from stress-inducing thoughts

Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson from Mindlab International explained, “Brain imaging studies have shown that music works at a very deep level within the brain, stimulating not only those regions responsible for processing sound but also ones associated with emotions.”

There are a bunch of brain benefits that come from listening to music.

Songs designed to destress

Some artists have taken it one step further, writing their songs specifically to calm anxiety. 

New Zealand singer Benee released BAGELS in 2023 after working with neuroscientists from Auckland University of Technology. 

The artist told Rolling Stone, “every aspect, from the beat, the natural soundscape and harmonies, to the subtle message in my lyrics, “you are not alone,” is designed to take away feelings of anxiousness.”

Neuroscientist Mangor Pedersen said, “There are several characteristics of music that people generally find very relaxing, such as repetition, a C major key, no grating sounds or sharp drums.” These aspects were a focus during production.

During neurological testing, teenagers and young adults listening to the song were found to have reduced levels of the short-term anxiety experienced during stressful situations. Activity in the areas of the brain associated with emotional regulation and fight or flight responses was also reduced. 

New Zealand singer Benee released BAGELS in 2023 after working with neuroscientists from Auckland University of Technology.  Picture: iStock

Pedersen led the study, he said, “These are parts of the brain that activate when we’re busy, when you’re doing something strenuous in terms of cognition, thinking, working memory and attention and so forth.”

“It is a good indicator that when we get less connectivity between these areas, the brain is actually also managing to take a little break.”

Weightless by Marconi Union has also been scientifically proven to reduce anxiety. Dubbed ‘the world’s most relaxing song’, it’s so calming that one doctor from Sussex University has said he “would advise against driving while listening to the song because it could be dangerous”. 

The British ambient band worked with sound therapists to design a song specifically to lower blood pressure, heart rate and stress.

Research from Mindlab International found that listening to Weightless reduces anxiety by 65 per cent, and decreases usual physiological resting rates by 35 per cent.

Weightless by Marconi Union has also been scientifically proven to reduce anxiety. Image: Getty

Founder of the British Academy of Sound Therapy, Lyz Cooper said the song “contains a sustaining rhythm that starts at 60 beats per minute and gradually slows to around 50”, so listeners’ heartbeats can naturally slow down to match the beats per minute (BPM). 

“It takes about five minutes for this process, known as entrainment, to occur”, she adds, which makes the song’s length of eight minutes ideal. 

“And there is no repeating melody, which allows your brain to completely switch off because you are no longer trying to predict what is coming next”.

Time to make some new additions to your calming playlist.

Originally published as These songs are specifically designed to reduce stress and anxiety