Benee’s ‘Bagels’ For Mental Health
We all have our own tools we employ when the brain is getting a bit overwhelmed.
Benee’s is going swimming at the beach and having a bagel, a nod to this in the title of her new song Bagels which has been scientifically designed alongside leading neuroscientists at Auckland University of Technology and mental health organisation Youthline to help reduce anxious feelings.
Bagels was tested against five control music tracks, including Weightless by Marconi Union, widely acknowledged as the gold standard of relaxation music. The professors at Auckland University of Technology used electroencephalogram (EEG) imaging of brain activity to measure the song’s impact on anxious feelings and found Bagels to be the most effective song of all the music tested to significantly relax the brain. This was shown through lower heart rates, perspiration and calming the brain activity in the frontal and parietal lobes – the areas often associated with regulating emotions and the fight or flight stress response. How? A combination of the beat, natural soundscapes and harmonies, and the subtle message in the lyrics, ‘you are not alone.’
Bagels music video has also been proven to reduce anxiety through the smooth colour transition and hypnotic swaying of organic forms which move our eyes repetitively from left to right, a therapeutic tool, known as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprogramming (EMDR).
Youthline’s Clinical and Services Manager, registered counsellor Joanna Madsen speaks to the accessibility of Bagels:
“There’s a clear need for clinically sound, creative, and accessible resources young people can add to their wellness kit for when they’re feeling anxious. It’s our hope this track will be a practical tool teenagers and young adults can use in stressful situations - around exams, a tough conversation, or on a crowded bus.”
If Benee wasn’t already a nice enough person as it is, all income generated from streaming of Bagels will be donated to Youthline, a New Zealand charity offering free helpline services, face-to-face counselling, mentoring, and programmes in schools and communities helping the youth. Onya Benee.