If your work leaves you drained, a short break with calm music sounds appealing. A small US hospital study found that staff who answered a survey rated their energy higher after a 20-minute music session. But very few people answered, there was no comparison group, and burnout itself was not measured.
A team at Northwestern University and Northwestern Medicine in Chicago reported their findings in Frontiers in Psychology on 20 September 2026. They describe the work as preliminary and exploratory. It began during the COVID-19 pandemic and continued afterwards.
Healthcare workers were offered a 20-minute programme called Restorative Music. The music was calm and slow, with simple rhythms, a limited range of notes and gentle melodies, arranged in seven segments: four improvised pieces and three slow Irish airs. Physicians and neurology residents used prerecorded sessions in a hospital quiet room. Psychiatric social workers attended in-person sessions where a certified music practitioner played the viola live.
In total, 724 staff attended: 493 physicians, 60 members of a neurology department and 171 social workers. Taking part in the survey was voluntary and anonymous. Staff rated their feelings before and after a session on a 1 to 10 scale, and some also took part in unstructured interviews. The authors did not seek formal ethics board approval, noting that no personal or health information was collected.
Only 51 of the 724 attendees (7%) completed a survey: 17 physicians, 21 neurology staff and 13 social workers.
Among those who responded, ratings of subjective energy rose from an average of about 56% before the session to about 83% afterwards, a statistically significant difference. High proportions of respondents also reported improved positive emotion (84%), reduced tension (86%) and improved pleasure and contentment (84%). Most said they would recommend the sessions (95%) and the quiet room (97%).
The authors interpret the findings as a sign that the programme is feasible and acceptable and that people felt better in the short term. They do not claim that it lowers burnout or works as a clinical treatment, and they call for controlled studies that use validated measures.
With a response rate of 7%, the people who filled in the survey may be those who enjoyed the sessions most. People who found it unhelpful, or who did not like the music, may simply not have responded. That can make the results look more positive than the experience of the whole group.
The authors list further limits:
It is also worth noting that the study took place in a hospital in the United States, with staff who chose to attend. The findings may not apply to workplaces with different pressures, to staff who do not have a quiet room, or to people who do not enjoy this style of music.
Workplace rules and responsibilities differ between countries, employers and professions. This was not an Australian study, and nothing here is advice about workplace entitlements or obligations.
Burnout generally reflects workload, control, resources and support, as well as individual factors. A short music break is an optional relaxation idea and does not replace changes to workload or staffing, nor support from a doctor or psychologist. If you are struggling, speaking with your doctor is a sensible step, and in Australia Lifeline is available on 13 11 14, with 000 for an emergency.
Source: Sound relief: Restorative Music as a strategy to improve clinician wellbeing DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1864986
AI-generated editorial illustration. The scene is fictional and does not depict a study participant or demonstrate treatment effectiveness. This article summarises published research in our own words and is general information, not personal health advice.
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