It is my great fortune to be a part of an international group of neurofeedback practitioners who share tips, ideas, and concerns.  This past week, one of them, Dr. Diane Stoler of Massachusetts, shared the following snippet about reggae music helping with anxiety and OCD, and I felt it was worth sharing with you.  She said:

We all know music helps to soothe. Children love to be sung to sleep.   Over the years, I have encouraged my patients to listen to classical music or jazz.   I also encourage certain specific sounds such as 528 Hz or 396 Hz.   If this interests you, Bob Yourell has a fantastic music recording that is the audio equivalent of EMDR.  [It’s pricey but available on Amazon.]

The other day there was a program discussing ways to soothe and calm dogs as their owners leave home and return to work.  One suggestion was to leave the clothing of the owner for the dog.  The other suggestion was reggae music.  Now, I never thought of suggesting reggae music to any of my patients to help soothe them.

So, with my neurofeedback patients who have clear anxiety and/or OCD, I decided to explore and see how the brain would react to this music. I knew that the above-mentioned music or frequency helps actually help calm the brain and emotional areas, so why not experiment with other kinds of music.  

Then, I learned that Johnny Nash died this week, so instead of reggae I ended up playing the song “I Can See Clearly Now.” With their permission, I observed several of my patients who were wired up for their neurofeedback session for anxiety and/or OCD to test out how this music affected them.

I told them about the dog and suggested they listen to the Johnny Nash song.   To my sheer amazement I could clearly see their brain calming down, and they reported feeling calmer.   The results were the same or better than the 528 or 396 Hz frequency I mentioned earlier. Thus, I recommended to them when they are feeling anxious or OCD to put on some reggae music in the background.  Great Success. 

Dr. Diane’s discovery on the neurofeedback monitor goes along with what we all know:  music affects our feelings and mood.  Other colleagues noted in response to her observation that the effect probably goes well beyond the frequency of the music, because, let’s face it, “I Can See Clearly Now” is one of the more upbeat and uplifting songs out there. The lyrics are all about optimism.

I am so grateful for Dr. Diane’s reminder that we can experiment on ourselves.  Consider putting together a play list of songs you like that focus on joy, resilience, or perseverance. Or, go the reggae way and see how the frequency and beat affect your mood (If you’re unfamiliar with reggae, Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, or Norris Reid are good entry points to the genre.  Try starting here or here.).  It’s so easy to forget that music is vital to our lives, and it doesn’t take a double-blind, placebo-controlled study to know that music can change the course of your day.  And, any side effects of a good song are going to be positive ones!

You can find Dr. Diane Stoler at https://www.drdiane.com/.