What do you do when you’re stressed? Go out for some fresh air? Or lie down quietly, stick your headphones on and put on some calming music? If you generally opt for the latter, we’ve got something for you. Manchester based trio Marconi Union, have an album of five songs that could come in very useful.
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You may not have ever heard of Marconi Union before now. But their music is ranked as some of the most relaxing in the world. The song ranked as the most relaxing is titled Weightless. The eight minute track has been written and designed in collaboration with the British Academy of Sound Therapy. Its virtues have been scientifically proven. Scientists from the Mindlab Institution used the music in an experiment.
11% more relaxing
They recruited the help of 40 female volunteers who were made to listen to a whole playlist of music, some tracks being more relaxing than others. Whilst connected to sensors, the volunteers had to listen to the music, whilst they tried solving a puzzle in record time. For each track, the heart rate, blood pressure, brain activity and breathing of the participants were meticulously monitored.
All tracks labelled as relaxing helped to lower the heart rate and blood pressure, a sign of reduced stress. But Weightless was the most effective of them all measured as 11% more relaxing and helped in reducing stress by 65%. According to Lyz Cooper, founder of the British Academy of Sound Therapy, Marconi Union used a scientific theory to design the world’s most relaxing music.
To further strengthen the relaxing side, the group were shown a Zen style video clip. This was a time-lapse made with a drone that filmed for several hours a stretch of water in the mountains of the Lake District.
The 10 most relaxing tracks
But Weightless isn’t the only effective track to relax. Here are the 10 most relaxing pieces of music, as approved by scientists.
10- Cafe Del Mar- We Can Fly
9- Mozart- Canzonetta Sull’aria
8- Adele- Someone Like You
7- All Saints- Pure Shores
6- Barcelona- Please Don’t Go
5- Coldplay- Strawberry Swing
4- Enya- Watermark
3- DJ Shah- Mellomaniac (Chill Out Mix)
2- Airstream- Electra
1- Marconi Union- Weightless
