Just Relax…
Stress is an inevitable part of our daily lives! And managing it can be somewhat challenging. To relax, you might go for a stroll in the park, take a long warm bath, meditate or heck even simply just get some sleep! While there are a ton of different ways to cope with stress, I’m going to be focusing on sound therapy in this article. You might be well familiar with it, but have you ever heard of the song Weightless by Marconi Union? It is dubbed as the world’s most relaxing song according to neuroscience!
When Science and Music Collide
In 2011, UK band Marconi Union collaborated with a bunch of sound therapists at an attempt to create the “world’s most relaxing song”! They carefully arranged a specific set of harmonies, rhythms, and bass lines together. Scientifically, this arrangement should decrease the listener’s heart rate, blood pressure and stress levels! Later on through research, neuroscientists over at Mindlab International proved that this attempt was indeed a success!
The research was conducted on a group of participants who were given difficult puzzles to solve as quickly as possible. All while being monitored by sensors. The puzzles induced a certain level of stress, and participants listened to different songs while researchers measured brain activity as well as physiological states that included heart rate, blood pressure, and rate of breathing.
Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson, who lead this research, reported to Inc. that Weightless by Marconi Union was 11 percent more relaxing than any other track tested to date. It also helped decrease participants’ stress levels by a whopping 65 percent!
But Why Weightless by Marconi Union Specifically?
Lyz Cooper, founder of the British Academy of Sound Therapy, explained why Weightless was the most effective track of all in reducing stress. She said: “The song makes use of many musical principles that have been shown to individually have a calming effect. It contains a sustaining rhythm that starts at 60 beats per minute and gradually slows to around 50. While listening, your heart rate gradually comes to match that beat. It is important that the song is eight minutes long because it takes about five minutes for this process, known as entrainment, to occur. The fall in heart rate also leads to a fall in blood pressure.”
She also said: “The harmonic intervals or gaps between notes have been chosen to create a feeling of euphoria and comfort. 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. Instead, there are random chimes, which helps to induce a deeper sense of relaxation. The final element is the low, whooshing sounds and hums that are like Buddhist chants. High tones stimulate but these low tones put you in a trance-like state. Weightless is ideal for putting on at the end of a stressful day and unwinding.”
Time to Kick Back, Listen & Relax!
Now that you’ve heard science’s opinion on the matter, it’s time to put the song to the test yourself!
Here’s Weightless by Marconi Union:
You can also check out the top 10 most relaxing songs in the world compiled by Mindlab International on Spotify. Happy unwinding!
