Listening to music to relax and distract the mind is something that human beings have been doing since the beginning of time. We have all been able to experience at some point the great power that music has to influence our emotions and our mental and nervous state. But knowing what music relaxes us had until recently been left in the hands of each person.

Finding out what the most effective relaxing music is, even the most relaxing song in the world, has been the goal of some recent studies. One of those songs endorsed by science as the songs that provide maximum relaxation has been the focus of a clinical trial at the University of Pennsylvania, which has been echoed by the medical journal BMJ.

music for anxiety as effective as a benzodiazepine

Specifically, the researchers compared the effects of midazolama benzodiazepine with anxiolytic and sedative effect, with those of a specific song which a previous study had considered the most relaxing song in the world. And they did it in 157 patients who underwent a surgical intervention that required local anesthesia.

Mizadolam is a nerve-calming medication that is routinely used before local anesthesia to reduce preoperative anxiety, which can trigger stress hormones in the blood and affect recovery after surgery.

According to the researchers, who published their results in the medical journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicinethe effects of music on the perception of anxiety were sufficiently similar to those of midazolam that it could be «offered as an alternative to the use of this medication», although to recommend it in surgical interventions with local anesthesia, future studies on the type of music and how to offer it to patients would be required.

The song tested by researchers, the most relaxing in the world

The song that researchers at the University of Pennsylvania gave half of the patients to listen to in their clinical trial was Weightlessby Marconi Union. This choice was not accidental. You can listen to it here:

Marconi Union is a British ambient group and their piece Weightlesshad been studied by a team of neuroscientists from Mindlab International. The objective of that study, led by Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson, had been to determine which were the most effective relaxing songs in the world.

After comparing the effects of ten pieces of relaxing music In the physiological constants of a group of 20 people, the researchers had determined that Weightless was the one that achieved the most powerful effects. The pieces had been chosen based on their Internet ratings and the criteria of a group of experts. «The power of this composition is extraordinary, far superior to that of any other piece of music we have studied. Weightless reduces anxiety by 65%»they concluded.

The success of Weightless It hadn’t been coincidence either. When creating this composition, the British group had set out to achieve «the most relaxing song in the world«and for this they had based themselves on scientific research and had collaborated with experts in sound therapy.

His piece was designed to reduce blood pressure, stress levels and heart rate. It starts with 60 pulses per minute that are gradually reduced until reaching 50, which gradually reduces the heart rate of the listener.

There is a free 10-hour version that you can take advantage of to create a relaxing environment wherever you are.