The Best Waiting-Room Music for Your Mind

waiting-room-548136_1280Music can change how we perceive time and how we react to anxiety-inducing situations; the right music can be a total difference-maker in terms of the overall experience for patients in waiting rooms across the country.

Exactly how big is the difference? Pretty significant actually, studies have shown that “86% of patients report that waiting room music makes them feel more relaxed, while 75% go on to say that they feel both happier and less nervous with music playing.”

However, because there are many varying tastes and preferred styles among patients, there is also a fine line to strike as a dentist DJ. Tunes should be relaxing but not boring like elevator music, mainstream but not the constantly repeated tracks on the radio (unless you want to drive your staff crazy), they have to appeal to the young and not offend the old (or vice-versa).

This musical tightrope has encouraged some practices to not play music at all, or only play it in rooms where procedures are performed. This “silence can be extremely off-putting for patients, especially those who are already anxious about a trip to the dentist,” according to Debra Christiansen, LPC, a licensed therapist who works with music as a treatment for anxiety.

So if silence is definitely bad, what does a good playlist look like?

A good playlist will:

  1. Will be long enough to only repeat a few times a day.
  2. Be played in all areas of the practice that patients are likely to be anxious.
  3. Have a mix of contemporary (but inoffensive) and “golden oldies” tracks to satisfy most age groups.
  4. Should ideally feature tracks that play around sixty beats per minute.

Sixty beats per minute is recognized as a sweet spot that is shown to reduce stress, and simultaneously increase the amount of endorphins released in the brain. This results in happier clients and the perception of reduced wait and procedure times.

Some songs that have been shown to strike a pleasant chord with staff and customers are:

  1. “In My Life” – The Beatles
  2. “I’m Yours” – Jason Mraz
  3. “Peaceful Easy Feeling” – The Eagles
  4. “Three Little Birds” – Bob Marley

What is your favorite waiting room tune?