If you don’t know what anxiety feels like, imagine yourself having just enough money to catch an urgent flight, and then being stuck in a traffic jam. You feel helpless, you feel distraught and there’s nothing you can do to improve your situation. 

While a bout of anxiety is always a bad news, there is a silver lining somewhere. And that is the fact that you can appreciate certain songs a lot better. 

A study by Dr. David Lewis Hodgson of Mindlab International, proved that listening to Weightless by Marconi Union is reported to have a magical effect on your anxiety levels. 

Sound therapy has been around for ages, and it has to be noted that this song was created to help people calm down. It was recorded in collaboration with sound therapists so that its notes and beats would slow down the listener’s heart rate, thereby reducing their levels of stress and anxiety. 

“It contains a sustaining rhythm that starts at 60 beats per minute and gradually slows to around 50. While listening, your heart rate gradually comes to match that beat. It is important that the song is eight minutes long because it takes about five minutes for this process, known as entrainment, to occur.The fall in heart rate also leads to a fall in blood pressure. The harmonic intervals – or gaps between notes – have been chosen to create a feeling of euphoria and comfort. And there is no repeating melody, which allows your brain to completely switch off because you are no longer trying to predict what is coming next. Instead, there are random chimes, which helps to induce a deeper sense of relaxation. The final element is the low, whooshing sounds and hums that are like buddhist chants. High tones stimulate but these low tones put you in a trance-like state,” Lyz Cooper, founder of The British Academy Of Sound Therapy was quoted as saying by Telegraph.co.uk. 

But there’s a flip side to listening to such songs as well. By helping you relax, it can also put you to sleep. “Weightless’ was so effective, many women became drowsy and I would advise against driving while listening to the song because it could be dangerous,” said Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson.

So yes, if you’re feeling anxious while driving or doing something that requires a lot of concentration, avoid this song. Otherwise, there’s no reason for you to not give it a try.