By Tessa Naughton-Ron

A new study from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)’s psychology department found that listening to music for just 24 minutes can reduce anxiety and cortisol levels.

The data was collected through a clinical trial conducted on undergraduate students to see how listening to a curated playlist could reduce anxiety levels. Binaural beats, a type of auditory beat simulation, were layered over the music played to students.

The researchers concluded that the music reduced cortisol and anxiety in people more than those who listened to pink noise, a type of auditory stimulation resembling the sound waves of nature, according to researcher and psychology professor Frank Russo. 

“The most important change, our number one outcome, was cortisol,” said Russo. 

Cortisol is considered the stress hormone and is higher in people who are under chronic stress. Russo said after listening to the curated music, participants’ blood was tested for cortisol levels. Researchers found that their levels were significantly reduced for the music listeners compared to pink noise listeners. 

“What we found is that over 24 minutes, we got a significant reduction in cortisol. And the drop in cortisol was two times greater,” he said.

Russo said this research could be beneficial for counselors and students to know as they enter stressful periods like finals season or deal with other stress-inducing life events. 

“If you’re wondering whether music is actually effective in regulating your anxiety, it seems like it is,” Russo said. “The simplest way to do this is just to play a calm playlist.” 

Danielle Mullen is a psychology PhD student who worked on a similar study this year exploring how music can help people with anxiety. She said her future research will look at how to implement these findings into everyday life, especially for young adults. 

With TMU being located in the noisy downtown core, Mullen suggested having quiet spaces on campus that are dedicated to listening to calming curated music. Students would be able to book the room, she proposed, and use provided headphones and have a place to de-stress before exams or in times of anxiety. 

“We try to encourage people to just really focus on the music and close your eyes and really just get caught up in it,” said Mullen. 

Diana Brecher is the scholar-in-residence for positive psychology at TMU. She works with anxiety and positive psychology and is familiar with the idea of music being a calming experience for those with anxiety. 

“I think it makes total intuitive and experiential sense. I often recommend to students to put together a playlist for different occasions,” she said.

Russo believes future research on this topic has potential to help and inform practices in various areas of anxiety and mental health-related fields.

“Music is just a really accessible way to exercise some kind of self-care for mental health,” he said. 

He encouraged students to think of it as a “digital therapeutic” and a gateway into getting help for yourself if it is something that’s needed.