Relaxing Music for Stress: How Sound Can Reduce Stress

Modern life can be full of stress, from work deadlines to broken-down cars. But, at KEF, we find that harnessing the power of sound can offer some reprieve.

Now, it's no secret that music can have a mood-boosting effect. After all, we've all felt the little lift in our spirits when we hear our favourite song - but in this guide, we're going to dive into this well-known phenomenon a little further. We'll get into the science behind music's mood magic and look at how you can amplify the soothing powers of sound for the ultimate chill-out time.

How Music Helps Lower Stress

Have you ever heard the opening beat of a go-to tune and immediately felt your shoulders relax, your jaw unclench, and your heartbeat steady? You weren’t imagining it. It’s science. 

Music activates and excites several parts of the brain, including those linked to memory, muscle memory, analysis and communication, as well as the pleasure centre and the amygdala (where emotions are processed).

Most importantly, in terms of stress relief, music can influence the autonomic nervous system, helping to regulate heart rate and breathing and support a calmer state.

Active Listening: Taking Time to Just Listen

Many of us love music as an ambient background to otherwise boring tasks, or even as a motivator. However, when it comes to de-stressing, just sitting and listening without doing anything else can work wonders.

This is because doing multiple things at once, while efficient, can actually cause cognitive overload, leading to mental fatigue and increased stress. That’s not to say you can’t use music to relax while also taking on a stress-inducing task. It’s all about applying the right type of music for the right situation.

If you’re using music as a relaxing background rather than the main event, choose lo-fi beats or slower classical pieces with steady, regular rhythms, and avoid music with lyrics. This allows you to enjoy music without it taking up too much of your cognitive focus.

In your active listening time, when you’ve completed your tasks and are ready to focus on yourself, it’s time to indulge in detailed melodies or rich lyrics. This can be a highly effective way to practice mindfulness, a therapeutic technique that involves focusing completely on the sensory input of a single moment, picking out all the subtle details and any feelings it evokes.

How to Use Music for Mindfulness

Mindfulness is all about staying in the present. This is incredibly calming and grounding, as it allows us to take a break from past upsets and future worries. 

Active listening to a beloved piece of music is an excellent mindfulness practice because it gives you a clear object of focus. You can zero in on the lyrics, the rhythmic changes, whatever you like. Even if you’re only able to maintain undivided focus for a single song, that’s still a two-minute respite from any other thoughts and troubles.

To enhance the experience, try muting your phone notifications until the piece of music you’re mindfully engaging with is over. 

The Best Types of Music for Relaxation

There’s no one type of music that works best for relaxation because each listener is unique, and different pieces of audio evoke different feelings in all of us. However, research shows that certain rhythms, genres, and soundscapes are relaxing for a broad range of people. 

The Most Relaxing Genres of Music

Classical music is a common recommendation for relaxation, particularly pieces from the Baroque period. Choose pieces with a rhythm of 60 beats per minute or lower, as listening to these slower pieces is scientifically proven to support a slower breathing and heart rate.

Jazz is another popular choice for low BPM music, thanks to the smooth melodies and velvety vocals. However, there are plenty of other options for relaxing music outside of the stereotypical genres.

Using Music to Soothe Through Nostalgia

Try using music to tap into nostalgia for a calming effect. Music is closely linked to memory and can help reinforce emotional connections to past experiences, so playing songs linked to calming or happy memories can have a profoundly soothing effect.

Using Nature Sounds to Relieve Stress

Natural soundscapes are another powerful way to soothe the senses. From waves to breezes and birdsong, natural sounds are calming thanks to ‘biophilia,’ the innate human desire to connect with the natural world. If you live in a busy, noisy, urban environment, filling your home with natural soundscapes can counteract the chaos of city living.

By using high-fidelity speakers, such as KEF’s HiFi range, you can enjoy full immersion in the sounds of nature even in the most urban areas. With natural sounds from all directions, the four walls melt away, leaving you in the forest, on the beach, anywhere you want to be…

Why Sound Quality Matters for Mental Fatigue

Poor audio quality can make listening more effortful, increasing cognitive load over time.. So, the better your audio quality, the lower your cognitive load and stress. With clear, balanced sound, distractions are reduced, allowing you to live in the moment.

High quality sound is also far more immersive. With high fidelity audio, listeners describe feeling as though the artist and the instruments are physically in the room, making it that much easier for everything else to melt away. After all, while it would be wonderful to go to a concert of our favourite artist every time life gets overwhelming, that’s unfortunately impossible for most of us… but high-fidelity immersive recordings might just be the next best thing. 

How to Build a "Calm" Playlist

Building a soothing playlist is deeply personal, linked to preferences, memories and more. Two people could each create a relaxation playlist with completely different pieces of music. At the same time, we do have some suggestions to help you craft your personal relaxation mix.

The Nostalgia Playlist

This playlist is centred on your happiest and most comforting moments. Whether it’s a song you played with friends, the first dance melody from your wedding, or a tune your parents sang when you were young, this playlist will reignite those positive feelings and strengthen those memories.

The Shared Playlist

Another way music soothes our souls is by helping us to connect with others. Because music is so personal and emotional, sharing a listening experience with another person is an incredible way to bond. 

If you live with a partner, close friend or family member, why not create a shared relaxation playlist of the songs you each find most soothing? When you relax and listen together, that feeling of connection can be deeply grounding. 

The Slow Playlist

As mentioned previously, songs at 60 BPM or slower help lower our heart rate and slow our breathing, so a slow playlist is a perfect way to soothe. Examples of 60BPM and below songs include Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’, Adele’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’ and Otis Redding’s ‘My Girl’.

Creating a Relaxing Space with KEF Wireless Systems

At KEF, we offer a wide range of speakers, from bookshelf wireless models to floorstanding models. So, however you like to listen, and wherever you like to relax, we have a speaker to suit.

Many people like to create a custom listening nook, a cosy corner dedicated to enjoying audio. Our speaker placement and subwoofer placement tips can help you to perfect this space.

In summer, there’s no better way to relax than lying on a sun lounger while your favourite record plays. With KEF’s portable Muo, you can take the power of HiFi outdoors with you.

The bathtub is another favourite space in the home for relaxing. It also happens to have phenomenal acoustics. So, why not enhance your bath with high-fidelity sound, too? With KEF’s speaker range, especially the Muo, you can bring the power of HiFi listening into the bathroom space, adding an extra layer of luxury to your self-care rituals.


Are you ready to enhance your relaxation through sound? Find your KEF speakers today.