Trying To De-Stress? Your Body May Prefer This Kind Of Audio
After a long, stressful day, a little background noise or calming music can make winding down feel a lot easier. And new research shows the sound you choose may be able to influence how your body responds to stress.
A new randomized controlled trial1 explored this by comparing personalized music with pink noise, looking at how each of them effects anxiety, cortisol, and other stress markers.
About the study
Researchers tested this approach in 83 undergraduate students who reported recent anxiety symptoms. Participants listened to approximately 24 minutes of either a personalized music playlist with embedded low-frequency sounds (called auditory beat stimulation) or pink noise, a steady background sound similar to white noise.
Before and after listening, researchers assessed anxiety levels and measured three physical markers: salivary cortisol, heart rate variability (HRV), and brain activity using an electroencephalogram (EEG).
Personalized music led to a bigger drop in cortisol
Both groups reported feeling less anxious after listening, having experienced similar reductions in worry-related thoughts and physical tension. But their cortisol responses differed.
Cortisol is a hormone involved in the body's stress response. It decreased in both groups after listening, but the drop was significantly greater among participants listening to personalized music, particularly 15 minutes after the session ended.
Brain activity also differed. A brainwave pattern called midline theta, which is associated with emotional regulation, increased numerically in the music group but decreased in the pink noise group. However, this finding was sensitive to how researchers handled outlying data points, so it needs further investigation.
HRV, which measures variation in the time between heartbeats and offers insight into nervous system activity, increased in both groups, with no reliable difference between them.
Why feeling less anxious doesn't tell the whole story
Participants in both groups felt similarly relaxed, even though their cortisol levels responded differently.
But anxiety involves a lot more than worry or racing thoughts. It also triggers physical changes, including shifts in stress hormones and nervous system activity. However, these responses don't always match how calm we feel.
Other research has explored ways to influence this physical stress response. For example, hugging a partner before a stressful event may help reduce cortisol responses. In this trial, personalized music appeared to offer an added benefit for cortisol regulation, even though participants didn't report feeling calmer than those listening to pink noise.
How to make your next listening break count
There are some important limitations—researchers didn't compare personalized music with simply relaxing music or isolate the effects of the embedded low-frequency sounds. This means they can't determine whether personalization, the music itself, auditory beat stimulation, or a combination drove the results.
However, music therapy has established the benefits of the "iso principle," which matches music to someone's current mood, then gradually shifts toward calmer, more positive songs. Rather than jumping straight into relaxing music, the idea is to ease listeners into a different emotional state.
So instead of immediately reaching for the calmest songs you can find, try building a personalized playlist that gradually shifts your mood:
- Start where you are: Choose songs that match how you're feeling, whether that's frustration, overwhelm, or restlessness.
- Shift toward calmer sounds: Gradually introduce more soothing, uplifting music. No need to make the switch abruptly.
- Give it time: Participants listened for approximately 24 minutes, and the biggest difference in cortisol levels appeared 15 minutes after the session ended.
The takeaway
This study confirms that music and calming noise is indeed an effective way to calm down. It also suggest that your stress-relief playlist might benefit from a little more intention.
And the right song to unwind to might not be the calmest one on your playlist. Start with music that matches your mood, then shift toward calmer songs to support your body's stress response.
