Take aurally.
Turns out the ultimate anxiety remedy may not be in your medicine cabinet — but on Spotify.
An eight-minute ambient track called “Weightless” by British band Marconi Union is being hailed as the musical equivalent of a chill pill.
The song was actually designed to de-stress listeners — and science says it works.
In a study by Mindlab International, participants tasked with solving complex puzzles while wearing biometric sensors experienced a staggering 65% drop in anxiety when “Weightless,” originally released in 2014, played.
“Unlike most songs, it was composed in collaboration with sound therapists, with the [primary] purpose of slowing down the body’s stress response,” Dr. Steven Allder, consulting neurologist at Re:Cognition Health, told Parade in a recent interview.
The trippy tune starts at 60 beats per minute — the average resting heart rate — and gradually slows to 50, syncing with your body’s rhythm like a lullaby for your nervous system.
“This subtle deceleration encourages a process known as entrainment, where the listener’s heart rate and breathing naturally begin to match the tempo of the music, a physiological shift that supports relaxation,” Allder explained.
It’s no wonder the tune has become the poster child for musical stress relief. Unlike gym bangers or heartbreak ballads, this song goes easy on your eardrums.
“Weightless also features no sharp or abrupt transitions in rhythm, tone or volume,” Allder said. “By avoiding these fluctuations, ‘Weightless’ maintains a constant auditory landscape, which promotes calm and reduces mental stimulation.”
In other words: It’s the anti-EDM.
The “Weightless” craze joins a growing body of research showing music can do everything from sharpen focus to soften pain — if you hit the right notes.
For those looking to get in the zone rather than out of their head, neuroscientist Friederike Fabritius swears by Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.”
“When I have to focus, I always listen to [that] same song and I instantly get into flow,” Fabritius told Parade in a previous interview.
Her hack: train your brain to associate one tune with deep work — Pavlov, meet Spotify.
Classical music is a smart bet for study tunes, Dr. Erin Hannon of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, also told the outlet.
She recommends tracks with “a slow to moderate tempo, with moderately predictable pitch and rhythmic structure and lower levels of chaotic noise and dissonance, such as screaming.”
Dr. Christina Agvent added in a previous study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of online university CSU Global that “listening to music while studying can be an extremely helpful tool for some students in improving their focus,” especially among younger listeners — nearly 60% of Gen Z students say they plug in to study.
And it’s not just your mind that benefits.
Music might also help turn down the volume on physical pain. In a recent McGill University study, participants reported lower pain levels when listening to tunes set to their own natural rhythm.
So whether you’re grinding through emails or gritting through aches, one thing’s clear: the right beat can hit a lot harder than Advil.
As Caroline Palmer of McGill put it, “soothing or relaxing music works best as a pain reliever” — and tempo may be the secret sauce.
Consider it doctor’s orders: press play and chill out.
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