Neuroscientists Discover A Song That Reduces Anxiety By 65 Percent. Hear It Yourself!
Anxiety — that feeling of dread, fear,
worry and panic — is certainly nothing new. Hippocrates wrote about it
in the fourth century BCE. As did Søren Kierkegaard in the 1860s. And
Sigmund Freud addressed the disorder in 1926. However, jump to the
present and we’re seeing a significant uptick — especially with youth.
Pharmaceutical drugs
tend to be the classic treatment for treating anxiety (as well as the
biggest money maker). Cognitive therapy is a common approach as well.
Those with a holistic bent often turn to meditation, yoga, massage and
other relaxation techniques. Music therapy has also
been used with some success. But now neuroscientists in the U.K. have
zeroed in on a single song that results in a dramatic 65 percent
reduction in overall anxiety…
Also interesting: Playing Music Benefits The Brain More Than Any Other Activity
Anxiety and Generation Y
A 2013 survey found that 57 percent of American female university students reported episodes of “overwhelming anxiety.”
And in the United Kingdom, the charity YouthNet discovered a third of
young women — and one in ten young men — suffer from panic attacks.
Marjorie Wallace, CEO of the charity Sane,
believes that generation Y (those born in the 1980s and 1990s) is the
age of desperation. “Growing up has always been difficult, but this sense of desperation? That’s new,” she says.
Writes Rachael Dove in Anxiety: the epidemic sweeping through Generation Y:
Pieter Kruger, a London-based
psychologist, says research indicates that people who feel they don’t
have a choice are actually more resilient — mainly because they can
blame life or others if they make a wrong decision. However, if you have
a range of choices, you have no one to blame but yourself. “We become much more obsessive because we want to make the right decision every time,” he says.
Writer Claire Eastham, 26, agrees on her blog We Are All Mad Here:
“I
spend a lot of time worrying about what I am going to do with my life.
Previous generations had choice taken out of their hands. If you are
told what to do it takes the pressure away.”
In our modern era, decision making can
trigger a type of paralysis. Often, we will obsessively research the
many different options for, say, a pair of shoes. Eventually,
information overload will kick in and shut the whole shopping venture
down, leaving us exhausted and guilty for being crippled by such a
seemingly simple task.
Technology also contributes to the rise of
anxiety. A good number of millennials feel exposed without their
smartphones — and are rarely without them. Mobile gadgets tend to
be their window to the world and foster a sense of connectedness. But
there’s a dark side to feeling the need to keep on top of what everyone
is doing on social media — otherwise known as Fomo, or the Fear of Missing Out.
“Fomo is very real and can be a constant addiction that affects anxiety levels and a general sense of wellbeing,” says Kruger.
Social media allows us to compare
everything — relationships, diet, figure, beauty, wealth, standard of
living — not only with our friends, but with celebrities too. And, as
research has shown, time on social media “can cause depression in people who compare themselves with others.”
Besides revamping our lifestyles and
limiting exposure to social media — and learning to work with a
sometimes overwhelming abundance of choice — neuroscientists have found
listening to a specially designed song can have a profound influence
over our levels of anxiety.
The Creation of the Ultimate Anti-Stress Music
Researchers at Mindlab International in
the U.K. wanted to know what kind of music induces the greatest state of
relaxation. The study involved having participants try to solve
difficult puzzles — which inherently triggered a certain degree of
stress — while connected to sensors. At the same time, participants
listened to a range of songs as researchers measured their brain
activity, heart rate, blood pressure and rate of breathing.
What they found is that one song — “Weightless” — resulted
in a striking 65 percent reduction in participants’ overall anxiety,
and a 35 percent reduction in their usual physiological resting rates.
Interestingly, the song was specifically designed to induce this highly relaxed state. Created by Marconi Union,
the musicians teamed up with sound therapists to carefully arrange
harmonies, rhythms and bass lines, which in turn slow a listener’s heart
rate and blood pressure, while also lowering stress hormones like cortisol.
In fact, the music is so effective, that
many of the female participants became drowsy — to the point where lead
researcher Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson advises against listening to it while
driving.
Anxiety — that feeling of dread, fear,
worry and panic — is certainly nothing new. Hippocrates wrote about it
in the fourth century BCE. As did Søren Kierkegaard in the 1860s. And
Sigmund Freud addressed the disorder in 1926. However, jump to the
present and we’re seeing a significant uptick — especially with youth.
Pharmaceutical drugs tend to be the
classic treatment for treating anxiety. Cognitive therapy is a common
approach as well. Those with a holistic bent often turn to meditation,
yoga, massage and other relaxation techniques. Music therapy has also
been used with some success. But now neuroscientists in the U.K. have
zeroed in on a single song that results in a dramatic 65 percent
reduction in overall anxiety…
Anxiety and Generation Y
A 2013 survey found that 57 percent of
American female university students reported episodes of “overwhelming
anxiety.” And in the United Kingdom, the charity YouthNet discovered a
third of young women — and one in ten young men — suffer from panic
attacks.
Marjorie Wallace, CEO of the charity
Sane, believes that generation Y (those born in the 1980s and 1990s) is
the age of desperation. “Growing up has always been difficult, but this
sense of desperation? That’s new,” she says.
Writes Rachael Dove in Anxiety: the epidemic sweeping through Generation Y:
“So, what’s going on? The rise of technology, overly-protective parenting and “exam-factory” schooling are among the reasons psychologists suggest for our generational angst. Another, brought up on multiple occasions by my peers and by psychologists I spoke to, is the luxury (as ungrateful as it sounds) of too much choice.”
Pieter Kruger, a London-based
psychologist, says research indicates that people who feel they don’t
have a choice are actually more resilient — mainly because they can
blame life or others if they make a wrong decision. However, if you have
a range of choices, you have no one to blame but yourself. “We become
much more obsessive because we want to make the right decision every
time,” he says.
Writer Claire Eastham, 26, agrees on her blog We Are All Mad Here:
“I spend a lot of time worrying about what I am going to do with my life. Previous generations had choice taken out of their hands. If you are told what to do it takes the pressure away.”
In our modern era, decision making can
trigger a type of paralysis. Often, we will obsessively research the
many different options for, say, a pair of shoes. Eventually,
information overload will kick in and shut the whole shopping venture
down, leaving us exhausted and guilty for being crippled by such a
seemingly simple task.
Technology also contributes to the rise
of anxiety. A good number of millennials feel exposed without their
smartphones — and are rarely without them. Mobile gadgets tend to
be their window to the world and foster a sense of connectedness. But
there’s a dark side to feeling the need to keep on top of what everyone
is doing on social media — otherwise known as Fomo, or the Fear of Missing Out.
“Fomo is very real and can be a constant addiction that affects anxiety levels and a general sense of wellbeing,” says Kruger.
Social media allows us to compare
everything — relationships, diet, figure, beauty, wealth, standard of
living — not only with our friends, but with celebrities too. And, as
research has shown, time on social media “can cause depression in people who compare themselves with others.”
Besides revamping our lifestyles and
limiting exposure to social media — and learning to work with a
sometimes overwhelming abundance of choice — neuroscientists have found
listening to a specially designed song can have a profound influence
over our levels of anxiety.
The Creation of the Ultimate Anti-Stress Music
Researchers at Mindlab International in the U.K. wanted to know what kind of music induces the greatest state of relaxation. The study involved having participants try to solve difficult puzzles — which inherently triggered a certain degree of stress — while connected to sensors. At the same time, participants listened to a range of songs as researchers measured their brain activity, heart rate, blood pressure and rate of breathing.
What they found is that one song — “Weightless” — resulted
in a striking 65 percent reduction in participants’ overall anxiety,
and a 35 percent reduction in their usual physiological resting rates.
Interestingly, the song was specifically
designed to induce this highly relaxed state. Created by Marconi Union,
the musicians teamed up with sound therapists to carefully arrange
harmonies, rhythms and bass lines, which in turn slow a listener’s heart
rate and blood pressure, while also lowering stress hormones like cortisol.
In fact, the music is so effective, that
many of the female participants became drowsy — to the point where lead
researcher Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson advises against listening to it
while driving.
But don’t take their word for it. Experience it for yourself here:
Marconi Union — ‘Weightless’ (Official Video)
About the author:
Carolanne Wright enthusiastically believes if we want to see change in the world, we need to be the
change. As a nutritionist, natural foods chef and wellness coach,
Carolanne has encouraged others to embrace a healthy lifestyle of
organic living, gratefulness and joyful orientation for over 13 years.
Through her website Thrive-Living.net,
she looks forward to connecting with other like-minded people from
around the world who share a similar vision. You can also follow
Carolanne on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
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