Sound relief: Restorative Music as a strategy to improve clinician wellbeing

Over 50% of healthcare providers experience physician burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and an increased risk of medical malpractice. Although burnout is well-documented, fewer studies have examined accessible interventions that may support healthcare professionals during the workday. Studies have associated music-based interventions with reduced stress and increased relaxation. This preliminary study examined whether a brief Restorative Music intervention was associated with short-term changes in emotional state and perceived energy among healthcare professionals. The Restorative Music intervention consisted of 20-min sessions incorporating Clinically Designed Improvisatory Music (CDIM) and Slow Irish Airs selected for calming musical qualities such as slow tempo and simple rhythmic structure. A total of 724 healthcare workers, including physicians, neurology staff, and social workers, accessed the intervention, and 51 participants completed voluntary surveys assessing emotional state, tension, pleasure, likelihood to recommend, and subjective energy. We analyzed pre- and post-intervention energy ratings using a non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Participants reported favorable ratings for emotional state and likelihood to recommend. Subjective energy increased from an average of 56% before the intervention to 83% after the intervention; the Wilcoxon signed-rank test confirmed significantly higher post-intervention ratings (W = 13.5, p < 0.0001, r = 0.85). These preliminary findings support the feasibility and acceptability of Restorative Music as an accessible strategy for promoting short-term clinician wellbeing. Controlled studies using validated wellbeing and burnout measures are needed to determine whether the observed changes are attributable to the music-based intervention.