10 Relaxing Songs That Will Help Reduce Anxiety

How many of you turn to music when times get hard? I definitely do, so today I’ll be sharing 10 of my favourite songs to help reduce anxiety. Ranging from peaceful indie to acoustic rock, hopefully you’ll find a song you love.

 

Can Music Really Reduce Your Anxiety?

Music is great, but can it really calm you down when you’re anxious?

I believe it can, and some experts even agree that listening to music can slow your heart rate and breathing, as well as lower your blood pressure.

If you have anxiety then I recommend having dedicated anxiety playlist, full of songs that can calm you down when you’re anxious. In this article I’ll be going through 10 of the most soothing songs on my anxiety playlist that you can add to your own.

 

Here are 10 Songs that Will Calm You Down when You’re Anxious

 

 

The Calm – Of Mice & Men

Of Mice & Men are a metalcore band, but don’t click away just yet. While most of their songs are pretty heavy, they also have a few more soothing songs that are perfect to listen to when you’re feeling anxious.

The Calm is one of these songs, and it’s one of the most peaceful songs I’ve ever heard. I used to listen to it a lot when I was a teenager and my anxiety was at its worst. It’s entirely instrumental, so there are no lyrics to distract you, and you can instead just get lost in the music.

If you like The Calm then you’ll also want to check their songs, My Understandings and When You Can’t Sleep At Night. They have a similar tone to The Calm, although The Calm is my favourite of the three.

 

Afterglow – Luna Li

Luna Li is an up and coming indie artist who recently went viral after Tweeting out this performance from her bedroom. And it’s easy to see why – she’s immensely talented and her ethereal, almost heavenly music will take you to another level of relaxation.

Afterglow is Luna Li’s latest single, and in my opinion – one of her best. It’s beautiful, relaxing, and perfect to listen to when you’re anxious. Just close your eyes and let her take you to a better place.

 

Like a Star – Corinne Bailey Rae

Corinne Bailey Rae was a pretty big thing when I was growing up – at least in the UK. Her hit single Put Your Records On was everywhere in the late 2000s, and has nearly 300 million streams on Spotify alone.

I recently rediscovered Corinne Bailey Rae’s music, and she’s quickly become one of my favourite artists. Her music slow and peaceful, making it the perfect listen when you’re anxious or trying to calm down after an anxiety attack.

Like a Star is particularly relaxing, with the perfect mix of soothing background music, heart-warming lyrics, and Bailey Rae’s soft voice.

 

Adeline – alt-J

Alt-J’s sound is best known for their immersive, layered sound, and their music is perfect to listen to when you’re anxious.

Adeline is no exception. Sometimes it’s a bit too intense for a panic attack (their music can sound as if it’s building up to something – which, if you have anxiety, is a feeling you’re probably familiar with). But most of the time their music does a great job of calming me down, so I keep it on my playlist just in case.

 

Jesus Christ – Brand New

Brand New has been one of my favourite bands for a long time. And they’ve been active for 20 years, so I had a hard time narrowing it down to just one of their songs to feature in this list.

Jesus Christ is one of their more slow paced songs, but you should really go and check out their other ones, too. They have a lot of similar songs and they’re one of my go to bands for when I’m feeling anxious.

 

Call You Up – Viola Beach

They seem to be best known for the tragic car crash that killed all four members and their manager, but Viola Beach were a brilliant band with a range of great songs.

Call You Up is one of these. It’s soothing and atmospheric, being one of their more acoustic songs. But it also has strong enough beat to ground you while you’re anxious or panicking.

 

Wait – M83

Wait by M83 is a song that I seem to come back to time and time again, and I’ve been using it to soothe me during spells of anxiety since before I had a dedicated anxiety playlist. It’s a beautiful song, and can usually put me at peace after even the worst of anxiety attacks.

It’s so powerful that it’s been featured in a few films, most notably in The Fault in Our Stars in 2014.

 

Hypnosis – Raveena

Raveena is another emerging indie artist. She currently has around 1 million listeners on Spotify, and has created a name for herself by creating beautiful, dreamy music.

Hypnosis is the introduction to her first album, Lucid. It’s an album in which every song is as beautiful as the last, but Hypnosis does a brilliant job of setting the tone for what’s to come.

 

To Build a Home – The Cinematic Orchestra

To Build a Home has been featured in basically everything, from a range of TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill and Orange Is the New Black, to advertisements all over the world.

Why? Because it’s one of the most emotional songs out there. This song will calm you down, and will likely be a staple in anyone’s anxiety playlist.

 

Lover, Please Stay – Nothing But Thieves

Nothing But Thieves’ Lover, Please Stay is sad, but it’s peaceful. It’s a lot more stripped back than many of the other songs on this list, so if you’re a fan of simple yet beautiful music, then this song is for you.

It’s gritty, heartfelt and emotional. But it’s also extremely chilled out, and will be the perfect addition to your anxiety playlist.

 

Read Next: 12 Self Care Sunday Ideas

 

Comment and Subscribe!

I hope you enjoyed this article! Let me know in the comments if you have an anxiety playlist, and whether you’ll be adding any of these songs to it. My anxiety playlist has helped me out a lot over the years, so I’d really suggest creating one if you haven’t already.

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