Remember 8D music? It could help you relax during stressful times

Back in the early days of Covid, 8D music was making its way through WhatsApp Groups as a revolutionary new way of listening to music.

It might not have exactly lived up to the hype, but some of its features can potentially help listeners relax and even achieve a meditative state – fast.

8D music is essentially a relatively new type of audio whereby producers have edited tracks with some added reverb. This allows you to feel the music all around you, almost like being at a gig or festival.

Obviously, the term 8D doesn’t really mean anything because there are no eight dimensions in audio production (that we know of). It’s simply editing stereo tracks with a reverb effect that gives the audio new qualities, like the sensation it is actually moving around.

The music needs to be listened to with headphones to appreciate its full effect. Some listeners have likened it to listening with your brain and not with your ears.

So how can 8D audio help us relax? It is similar to binaural beats, where each ear hears tones at different frequencies. This means that 8D audio can potentially unlock the same benefits claimed of binaural beats – namely, a state of relaxation and induction of the mental state associated with meditation.

It should be noted that neither 8D audio nor binaural beats’ supposed benefits have been proven in clinical research, although many social-media users have reported feeling increased relaxation, lower stress, and a better mood after listening to 8D audio.

However, a few have reported experiencing dizziness and nausea from the listening experience. So it is always important to monitor your reaction to any new technology and stop if it gets uncomfortable.

Since its viral arrival two years ago, however, 8D audio hasn’t really taken off beyond a few remixes of popular songs tweaked to accommodate 8D music’s effects. A quick search on YouTube reveals tracks like Khalid and Normani’s Love Lies, and Billie Eilish’s Ocean Eyes.

But, with endless news headlines announcing doom and gloom every day, 8D music’s potentially relaxing effects might see its popularity rise once again.