While many of us eagerly look forward to our next holiday, it’s still common for many of us to feel some form of stress and anxiety when it comes to flying. Searches for “how do you get over a fear of flying” rose by 100 percent after the pandemic.
Traveling is extremely beneficial to our wellbeing, giving us a break from daily life and allowing us to discover new sights, cultures, and flavors, but sometimes, a fear of flying can hold us back from the experience.
Considering this, experts at SkyParkSecure have collaborated with Nichola Henderson, a wellbeing expert, to ask about the best beats per minute (BPM) to calm negative emotions. They analyzed Spotify data from PlaylistMiner.com to discover the best nature sounds to help ease feelings of stress, fear, and anxiety.
Which BPMs are the best to combat negative emotion?
Henderson advised that for stress and anxiety, the BPM of your music should be around 60 beats per minute, which can “cause the brain to synchronize with the beat, inducing the brain into alpha brainwaves, which is perfect for relaxation”
Regarding fear, she explained that this would typically be down to personal preference and the music that helps motivate the person, while to help a person sleep, the ideal BPM would be between 60 to 80, with no lyrics.
SkyParkSecure, then analyzed the top songs from Spotify playlists made to help with sleep or to combat fear, stress, and anxiety to find out the average BPM of the songs.
| Search | Avg. BPM Across Top 20 Songs |
| Stress | 105 |
| Anxiety | 115 |
| Motivation (To help with fear) | 124 |
| Sleep | 134 |
The average BPMs are considerably higher than what has been recommended, with the average BPM of songs on playlists that were made to ease anxiety around 115, compared to a recommended 60. The average BPM of songs on sleeping playlists was even higher, at 134.
The best nature sounds to help with a fear of flying
Nature sounds have been well known to help ease negative emotions, but which ones are the best?
The team looked at the Top 50 songs featured in “calming nature playlists” to find out which sounds were the most popular among listeners, then analyzed their BPMs to discover which would be best for those with a fear of flying.
| Type of Sound | # of Sounds in Top 50 | Average BPM |
| Lakes & Running Water | 16 | 94 |
| Rain | 12 | 86 |
| Beaches & Waves | 12 | 100 |
| Forests & Birds | 6 | 97 |
| Waterfalls | 2 | 106 |
| Crickets | 2 | 142 |
The sounds of lakes and running water were the most popular among listeners, with 16 sounds appearing in the top 50, followed by rainfall, with 12 sounds.
Rainfall was also found to be the best sound to help ease anxiety and stress, with an average of 86 BPM. Lakes and running water followed with 94 BPM, and forest and bird sounds with 97.
Crickets and waterfalls were the least popular sounds and had the highest average BPMs, meaning they would be the least helpful sounds to calm your nerves and could even potentially make you feel worse.
The full research and the perfect playlist for flying can be found here: https://www.skyparksecure.com/blog/nature-sounds-for-nervous-flyers/
