The Most Healing Sound Is the One That Matches Your Tempo

Scroll down to calculate your tempo or SPR 👇

The nervous system is deeply connected to how we process pain—and music may be one of the most powerful (and non-invasive) ways to soothe it. 

A 2025 study from McGill University found that listening to music at a tempo that matches your body's spontaneous production rate (SPR) can significantly reduce the experience of pain.

So it’s not just what we listen to, but how fast we listen to a song that can impact our level of healing.

What Is Spontaneous Production Rate (SPR)?

SPR is your natural internal rhythm—the pace your body prefers when tapping, walking, or moving without external cues. It’s regulated by the nervous system and reflects your internal tempo at rest.

Think of it like your body's personal metronome. And just like some songs feel more energizing or calming based on their tempo, aligning music to your SPR can help regulate your pain response through the brain’s sensory and emotional centers.

Keep reading to find out how to calculate yours and find music that matches it.

What the Study Found

In the McGill study, participants were exposed to mild pain while listening to unfamiliar melodies adjusted to different tempos:

• At their personal SPR
  
• 15% faster than their SPR
  
• 15% slower than their SPR
  

Result:
Music that matched their SPR led to the greatest pain relief, compared to other tempos and silence. The findings suggest that the closer music is to your internal rhythm, the more effectively it can engage the nervous system and reduce the perception of pain.

👉 How to Find Your SPR 👈

You don’t need a lab to find your SPR. Here are two simple at-home methods:

Tapping Method

1. Sit in a quiet space.
   
2. Begin tapping your finger on a table at a pace that feels natural and relaxed.
   
3. Tap continuously for 30 seconds (use a stopwatch or timer to countdown the 30 seconds for you)
   
4. Count your taps, then multiply by 2. That gives you your beats per minute (BPM)—your SPR.
   
   

Walking Method (Optional)

1. Go for a walk at your natural pace.
   
2. Count how many steps you take in 30 seconds (again, using a timer to count to 30 for you).
   
3. Multiply by 2 to get your step-based BPM.
   

Whichever number you get is the tempo your nervous system is most synced with. 

How to Find Music That Matches Your SPR

Once you know your SPR (say, 92 BPM), you can build a custom playlist around that tempo. Here's how:

Use BPM Tools:

• SongBPM.com – Search for songs by BPM
  
• Tunebat.com – Search or filter tracks by mood and BPM
  
• Spotify’s search also filters BPM tags (ex. type “92 bpm”)
  
  

For Healing & Ambient Sounds:

• Search YouTube or SoundCloud for terms like “92 BPM meditation music”
  
• Apps like Endel and Brain.fm offer personalized, tempo-adjustable music experiences
  
  

Music as Medicine

This research is one more example of how our body holds wisdom—and how tuning in to its rhythm can unlock healing. Whether you’re managing chronic pain, anxiety, or everyday tension, personalizing your music to your own internal tempo is a powerful tool to support your nervous system.

Our bodies already know what we need—we just need to listen.