The Neuroscience Of Music In Wellness And Spa Clinics

A few simple tweaks of your spa or clinic music can have a big impact to the customer experience, the level of comfort and luxury they associate with your business, the number of services they book and whether they refer you to friends.

Highlights:

• What one person finds relaxing is not what everyone finds relaxing. Ask customers to choose from a few simple playlists.
• Music can be as effective as medication to help us relax and is as restorative as sleep. Get it right and a 30 min massage will feel like 60 mins.
• No matter what music you’re playing, you need to check you have permission to play it in a commercial setting – even if you have a paid music streaming service
• Rippling water or monastery-like chimes soundscapes are not for everyone.
• Silence feels odd in a business context

Tash Sultana, courtesy Lemon Tree Music.

What the experts say:

What one person finds relaxing is not what everyone finds relaxing. Ask customers to choose from a few simple playlists.

In OneMusic’s research into all things music and business, a dental clinic in Manly, Sydney, was found to ask their patients’ favourite genre ahead of their appointment. Playing their favourite genre during their appointment was a simple but powerful tool to show consideration for the wellness of their customers.

If your goal is for your clients to feel fully relaxed, research shows that 45-minutes of music in a relaxed position can encourage a delta brainwave of 5hz, which is equivalent to sleep. There are many studies around the neuroscience of relaxation and music, even some debates about what the most relaxing song in the world is.

One study suggests “Weightless,” a piece commissioned by the British Academy of Sound as the most relaxing.

 A 2023 study conducted at Auckland University of Technology found a song by New Zealand pop-alt artist Benee to also be the most relaxing in the world. Whether you use contemporary music or instrumental songs, your music has a profound impact on the inner journey of your customers, and we want them to leave relaxed and rejuvenated.

Music can be as effective as medication to help us relax and is as restorative as sleep. Get it right and a 30 min massage will feel like 60 mins.

One Study out of Stanford University showed that “listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication.” A NZ study found that some music alters the human state, that there is temporarily less connectivity of various parts of the brain, slowing the brain – i.e. allowing for a break or rest.

No matter what music you are playing, you need to check you have permission to play it in a commercial setting – even if you have a paid music streaming service.

As well as a music licence, here are the other key elements to setting up your music in-house: 

1. Volume: Ensure the volume is set so no one needs to raise their voice when talking.  In one U.S Study, participants showed an overwhelming preference for soft music in comparison to medium or loud.  Soft music was measured at 60-70dB, which is about the same volume as an average conversation. 
2. Speaker Position: Ensure your speakers are in a position that is not in direct ear or head-line.  You want the music to spread evenly throughout the room and be indirectly reaching the ears of your client.
3. Volume consistency: The music volume is consistent throughout the clinic to create a seamless ambience

Rippling water or monastery-like chimes soundscapes are not for everyone.

Soundscapes like rippling water have been proven to be less effective than music for relaxation.

A study of 60 women exposed to a psychological stress test found a significant decreased stress response across all measured parameters when comparing music played to that of sound effects or no sound at all.

Silence feels odd in a business context

It is no surprise that customers prefer music in-store than silence. Suggested in a study by University of Bath’s School of Management, music enhances the customer’s experience and even lifts sales. The study also showed that pleasant music makes customers decision making more intuitive.

Conclusively, using music is not as black and white as many might perceive. The way in which you curate your song choices, set the volume and position, and use it throughout your space and sessions, will determine the benefits of it for your clients.