So apparently, you don’t need therapy, you just need… 24 minutes of tunes. A new study out of Toronto Metropolitan University says listening to music — specifically for about 24 minutes — actually reduces anxiety. Not 12, not 36 — twenty-four was the magic number.
They tested 144 adults who already had anxiety and were on medication. Each group got a different dose of sound — pink noise, music with something called “auditory beat stimulation” (which is just science’s way of saying fancy brain beats), and yes, that 24-minute track hit the sweet spot.
After listening, people weren’t just calmer; they had fewer negative thoughts and physical symptoms too. The researchers say 24 minutes is long enough to change brain activity, but not so long you have to block off your afternoon. Basically, it’s like a mental reset button with a playlist.
So next time you’re anxious, skip the doomscrolling — queue up 24 minutes of music and call it “treatment.” Your playlist might just be cheaper than therapy.
Source: U.S. News & World Report
Photo by Andrea Sánchez on Unsplash