Claim reviewed: In several comparisons, a short period of quiet rest was as relaxing as listening to music.
What do we know?
Several small studies compared a silence condition with music. In a study of 60 university students, anxiety measures did not differ across four conditions including silence. In a 46-person crossover trial, none of four music genres relaxed more than silence. After a stress test, in a study of 105 women, music did not give better recovery than water sounds or silence; in another study of 123 people, music delayed systolic blood pressure recovery compared with an audiobook and silence.
What don't we know?
The studies are small and short; participants were mostly healthy young adults, and silence was usually a comparison condition rather than what was being studied. The often-cited finding about a two-minute pause between music rests on a single small lab study. Long-term effects of silence are unknown.
Wording we use in the app: Silence is an option too. In several comparisons, short quiet rest was as relaxing as music.
Sources (5)
Robb 2000 · Randomised controlled trial · 60 participants
Sixty university students were randomly assigned to four conditions (15 each): music-assisted progressive muscle relaxation, progressive muscle relaxation, music listening and silence. Anxiety measures did not differ between groups; the largest change was with music-assisted relaxation.
Robb SL. Music assisted progressive muscle relaxation, progressive muscle relaxation, music listening, and silence: a comparison of relaxation techniques. J Music Ther. 2000;37(1):2-21. doi:10.1093/jmt/37.1.2 PMID 10806470 Go to source
Malakoutikhah ve ark. 2020 · Randomised controlled trial · 46 participants
A randomised crossover trial with 46 healthy undergraduates: pop, rock, Western classical, traditional Persian music and silence. None of the five conditions was more relaxing; the music genres had no extra effect compared with silence.
Malakoutikhah A, Dehghan M, Ghonchehpoorc A, Parandeh Afshar P, Honarmand A. The effect of different genres of music and silence on relaxation and anxiety: A randomized controlled trial. Explore (NY). 2020;16(6):376-381. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2020.02.005 PMID 32217042 Go to source
Song ve ark. 2024 · Experiment · 105 participants
After the Trier Social Stress Test, 105 healthy women recovered with researcher- or self-selected relaxing music, rippling water sounds or silence. Subjective and biological stress markers did not recover better after music, apart from a tendency with researcher-selected music.
Song Y, Ali N, Nater UM. The effect of music on stress recovery. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2024;168:107137. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107137 PMID 39024851 Go to source
Radstaak ve ark. 2014 · Experiment · 123 participants
After a mental arithmetic task, 123 participants were randomly assigned to four recovery conditions: self-chosen relaxing music, self-chosen happy music, an audiobook and silence. Both kinds of music delayed systolic blood pressure recovery compared with both control conditions.
Radstaak M, Geurts SA, Brosschot JF, Kompier MA. Music and psychophysiological recovery from stress. Psychosom Med. 2014;76(7):529-37. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000094 PMID 25153936 Go to source
Bernardi ve ark. 2006 · Experiment · 24 participants
A laboratory measurement with 12 practising musicians and 12 age-matched controls: six music styles and a randomly inserted two-minute pause. The pause reduced heart rate, blood pressure and minute ventilation, even below baseline.
A single small study; the pause versus slow music comparison in the full text could not be checked (scanned PDF).
Bernardi L, Porta C, Sleight P. Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory changes induced by different types of music in musicians and non-musicians: the importance of silence. Heart. 2006;92(4):445-52. doi:10.1136/hrt.2005.064600 PMID 16199412 Go to source
Last reviewed: 6 October 2026 · Next review: 5 April 2027