HMN 2026: How Clinical trial finds 24 minutes of music with auditory beats eases anxiety

A new randomized clinical trial has revealed that just 24 minutes of listening to specially designed music paired with auditory beat stimulation (ABS) can significantly reduce anxiety. The research offers a promising complementary approach for people seeking accessible, non-drug-based support for emotional regulation.

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) psychology researchers, Danielle K. Mullen and Frank A. Russo, conducted the clinical trial with LUCID, a digital therapeutics company born out of TMU’s Zone Learning ecosystem.

The study, “Investigating the dose-response relationship between music and anxiety reduction: A randomized clinical trial” is published in PLOS Mental Health.

Anxiety affects millions of people globally, and while medications and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are common treatments, they can come with barriers such as side effects, waitlists, cost and time commitment. Music-based digital therapeutics are emerging as a low-cost, highly accessible tool that can provide immediate relief from anxiety symptoms.

In this study, 144 adults with moderate trait anxiety who were already taking anxiety-reducing medication were randomly assigned to one of four listening conditions:

• Pink noise (24 minutes; control)
• Music with ABS (12 minutes)
• Music with ABS (24 minutes)
• Music with ABS (36 minutes)

Participants completed standardized measures of anxiety and mood before and after the intervention.

24 minutes emerges as the optimal ‘dose’

Results showed that music with ABS reliably reduced both cognitive and somatic symptoms of anxiety, as well as negative mood, compared to the pink noise control.

Importantly, the 24-minute listening session produced the strongest overall reduction in anxiety, performing on par with the 36-minute session and clearly outperforming the 12-minute version.

“What we’re seeing is a dose–response pattern where about 24 minutes of music with ABS seems to be the sweet spot,” said Russo, Professor of Psychology at TMU and Chief Science Officer, LUCID. “It’s long enough to meaningfully shift anxiety levels, but not so long that listeners need to carve out a large block of time.”

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