The song has already been proven effective
ASB and Youthline have teamed up with Kiwi music sensation BENEE and Auckland University of Technology neuroscientists to develop a practical tool to boost the mental wellbeing of young people.
ASB has been principal partner of Youthline since May 2022, to help accelerate Youthline's mahi and connect more young people with free mental health support. With ASB’S support, the youth mental health charity has been able to onboard more helpline counsellors (with further service expansion underway) and roll out a student-led leadership programme being piloted in selected secondary schools.
Through the collaboration, a single called Bagels was scientifically developed to include musical elements that will help relax the nervous system, modify brain activity, and ease feelings of anxiousness, and with more than 1.7 million streams since its launch in May 2023, listeners were already testifying the song’s effectiveness, Stuff reported.
“I’ve always seen music as a kind of therapy, but it was fascinating to learn why certain sounds move your mood,” BENEE said. “Bagels was a totally different creative process for us: every aspect, from the beat, the natural soundscape, and harmonies, to the subtle message in my lyrics, you are not alone, is designed to take away feelings of anxiousness.”
Neurological testing on rangatahi has shown that listening to Bagels reduces levels of short-term anxiety and calms brain activity in the frontal and parietal lobes, which are often associated with regulating emotions and the “fight or flight” stress response.
“Powered by more than 10 billion data points mapping a detailed representation of brain activity, our research into Bagels is an unprecedented study of how music can regulate anxiety,” said Daniel Shepherd, AUT associate professor, who advised on the musical principles behind Bagels.
Listeners have testified that the song has been helpful for winding down to go to sleep, concentrating while studying, finding calm in stressful situations, managing emotions after a break-up, and for mentally preparing for a day at school, Stuff reported.
Youthline is now using the song as hold music, providing callers with a calming option as they wait to speak to a counsellor. Counsellors, too, can share the tool as a practical option for young people to try when they’re feeling anxious.
“Our hope with this song was that it would be a practical tool rangatahi could use in stressful situations, and we’ve seen firsthand the impact that Bagels has had since its launch,” said Joanna Madsen, Youthline’s clinical and services manager and registered counsellor.
“It’s been so exciting to work with ASB to make this project happen, and collaborating with an artist as talented as BENEE was incredible. She’s a vocal mental health advocate and her determination to use her voice to support rangatahi shines through this track. BENEE's profile continues to help us get this practical resource on the playlists of more young New Zealanders.”
Lohit Kalburgi, ASB chief transformation officer, said the partnership with Youthline brings ASB’s innovation lens to the charity’s work and enables the bank to use its branding expertise and social media channels to get Bagels out to as many young people as possible.
“Supporting communities and innovation are in ASB's DNA, and this collaboration is an example of both,” Kalburgi told Stuff. “Not only is this a unique project, it's also one which will hopefully give rangatahi a way to boost their wellbeing, by doing what's second nature: putting on headphones to find some space.”
To learn more about Bagels and the ground-breaking science behind the track, visit asb.co.nz/bagelsbybenee.
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