A 24-minute listening session may be enough to take the edge off anxiety, according to a new randomized clinical trial from researchers at Toronto Metropolitan University.

The study tested specially designed music paired with auditory beat stimulation, or ABS, a technique that uses rhythmic sound patterns to influence brain activity. Researchers said the approach could offer an accessible, drug-free option for people looking for additional ways to manage stress and regulate emotions.

The clinical trial was conducted by psychology researchers Danielle K. Mullen and Frank A. Russo at Toronto Metropolitan University, in partnership with LUCID, a digital therapeutics company that emerged from TMU’s Zone Learning ecosystem.

Anxiety affects millions of people around the world. Common treatments include medications and cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, but the researchers said those options can come with challenges such as side effects, long wait times, cost and the time required for ongoing treatment.

The researchers said those barriers have led them to explore music-based digital therapeutics as a low-cost and widely accessible way to help people manage anxiety symptoms. They said the tools are designed to deliver quick relief through guided listening experiences that can be used almost anywhere.

The study included 144 adults who had moderate trait anxiety and were already taking medication to help manage their symptoms.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of four listening conditions: pink noise for 24 minutes as a control, music with ABS for 12 minutes, music with ABS for 24 minutes, or music with ABS for 36 minutes.

Before and after the listening sessions, participants completed standardized assessments that measured anxiety levels and mood.

The results showed that listening to music with ABS significantly reduced both cognitive and somatic symptoms of anxiety compared with the pink noise control. Participants also reported improvements in negative mood.

Among the listening durations tested, the 24-minute session produced the strongest overall reduction in anxiety. The researchers said its effects were similar to the 36-minute session and clearly stronger than the 12-minute session.

“What we’re seeing is a dose-response pattern where about 24 minutes of music with ABS seems to be the sweet spot,” said Russo, Professor of Psychology at TMU and Chief Science Officer, LUCID. “It’s long enough to meaningfully shift anxiety levels, but not so long that listeners need to carve out a large block of time.”

The study, “Investigating the dose-response relationship between music and anxiety reduction: A randomized clinical trial,” was published in PLOS Mental Health on January 21, 2026.