Soothing The Nervous System Through MusicSoothing The Nervous System Through Music
I Love Being Sober
Tim Westbrook talks with Barry Goldstein about using therapeutic music and simple breathing practices to soothe the nervous system and support sobriety. The conversation focuses on practical playlists, brainwave states and how sound can aid sleep, anxiety and emotional regulation in recovery.
1:15:48•3 Mar 2026
Soothing Sobriety: How Music Calms the Nervous System
Episode Overview
- A single "happy song" can be a quick, daily tool to shift mood and ease stress in recovery.
- Music around 60 beats per minute can support heart coherence, calmer brainwaves and better sleep.
- Therapeutic playlists can reduce the emotional charge of triggers and support anxiety and trauma work.
- Music can stimulate natural dopamine, serotonin and melatonin, acting like an internal pharmacy.
- Clinicians and caretakers can use calming music to create safer-feeling spaces for groups and sessions.
“Music has actually been shown to assist us in producing dopamine naturally in your body. It can help you induce this internal pharmacy to produce beneficial hormones.”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? For many people in sobriety, it's the moment they realise healing isn’t just in their head – it’s in their whole nervous system. This episode of *I Love Being Sober* zooms in on how music can calm that system and support long-term recovery.
Host Tim Westbrook sits down with Grammy Award–winning composer and sound healing pioneer Barry Goldstein, creator of Acousticeuticals™ – therapeutic music designed to help with anxiety, sleep, trauma and addiction recovery. Early on, Barry guides the group through his "heart-song breathing process", inviting everyone to place their hands on their heart and use slow, intentional breaths as a "vibrational shower" and home base when stress hits.
Barry explains why music isn’t just background noise: "Music's not just something that's happening to you. It's also something that's happening in you." He breaks down brainwave states (beta, alpha, theta, delta) and shows how simple tools – like closing your eyes and listening to music around 60 beats per minute – can ease racing thoughts and move the brain towards calmer waves, supporting better sleep and emotional regulation.
You’ll hear practical ideas for using playlists as "music as medicine", including the concept of a single "happy song" you can reach for when cravings, anxiety or tough conversations show up. Barry also talks about music producing natural dopamine, serotonin and melatonin, describing it as an "internal pharmacy" that can support recovery alongside therapy and medication.
Tim shares how Barry’s sleep playlist has become part of his own recovery routine, and the group chimes in with their experiences of using music to prepare for or wind down from stressful moments. If you’re sober and want tools that feel accessible, gentle and even a bit fun, this episode might have you asking: what would your happy song be today?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.