![]() The research concluded these 10 tracks to be the most effective in reducing stress and anxiety. ![]() The study also added in a few more tracks for comparison. The researchers saw a reduction in overall anxiety to be as much as 65 percent. ![]() In collaboration with the Manchester band Marconi Union, the song “Weightless” was born.Īccording to the Mindlab Institution, this particular song can reduce blood pressure and decrease blood levels of cortisol (“the stress hormone”). Classical music and sounds of nature seem to be particularly effective.īut what happens when a group of scientists and musicians decide to create the most relaxing music by employing scientific principles? The British Academy of Sound Therapy set out to create the world’s most relaxing song. You can find more music like this in the Calm app, the 1 app for mindfulness and meditation. In fact, music has been scientifically shown time and time again to calm the autonomic nervous system, the endocrine, and psychological stress response. It can help you relax and reduce anxiety. It can pump you up during workouts, inspire you before going into an important job interview. We have plans to continue collaborating and I am keen to explore how the results of this work might be applied to the creation and understanding of time-based art (installations, multimedia performance, and film) for the benefit of people in terms of wellbeing and health.It’s not a secret that music is a powerful universal language. This research is first to present an integrated behavioural, physiological and brain exploration of this topic.Īrtist Mark Ware commented, "Art-science collaborations can be problematic, often due to a lack of shared knowledge and language (scientific and artistic), but the team at BSMS has generously sought common ground, which has resulted in this exciting and successful outcome. The study of environmental exposure effects is of growing interest in physical and mental health settings, and greatly influences issues of public health and town planning. Interestingly, the amount of change in nervous system activity was dependant on the participants' baseline state: Individuals who showed evidence of the greatest stress before starting the experiment showed the greatest bodily relaxation when listening to natural sounds, while those who were already relaxed in the brain scanner environment showed a slight increase in stress when listening to natural compared with artificial sounds. ![]() There was also an increase in rest-digest nervous system activity (associated with relaxation of the body) when listening to natural compared with artificial sounds, and better performance in an external attentional monitoring task. When listening to natural sounds, the brain connectivity reflected an outward-directed focus of attention when listening to artificial sounds, the brain connectivity reflected an inward-directed focus of attention, similar to states observed in anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. The team found that activity in the default mode network of the brain (a collection of areas which are active when we are resting) was different depending on the sounds playing in the background: In collaboration with audio visual artist Mark Ware, the team at BSMS conducted an experiment where participants listened to sounds recorded from natural and artificial environments, while their brain activity was measured in an MRI scanner, and their autonomic nervous system activity was monitored via minute changes in heart rate. This has been an exciting collaboration between artists and scientists, and it has produced results which may have a real-world impact, particularly for people who are experiencing high levels of stress." The lead author, Dr Cassandra Gould van Praag said, "We are all familiar with the feeling of relaxation and 'switching-off' which comes from a walk in the countryside, and now we have evidence from the brain and the body which helps us understand this effect. The study has been published in Scientific Reports. While naturalistic sounds and 'green' environments have frequently been linked with promoting relaxation and wellbeing, until now there has been no scientific consensus as to how these effects come about. Researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) found that playing 'natural sounds' affected the bodily systems that control the flight-or-fright and rest-digest autonomic nervous systems, with associated effects in the resting activity of the brain.
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