Ever notice how when you’re stressed out, you end up inhaling that bag of chips or grabbing a pint of ice cream without thinking twice?

Or how a quick trip to the supermarket turns into a regret-filled spree of junk food because you weren’t really paying attention?

However, changing your habits doesn’t have to be a Herculean effort. You don’t have to change your entire routine. There’s one tweak that can actually help your body make better choices for you.

If you want to make healthier choices when you’re shopping, it’s not just about what you put on your list — it’s about what you put in your ears.

The simple volume trick you need to know

In 2017, a group of researchers wanted to figure out if the volume of background music in places like cafes and restaurants affects what kinds of food people choose — whether they go for healthy options like salads or unhealthy ones like cakes.

They experimented in 3 stages with a total of 364 participants (female: 219, male: 145).

1. They first ran a small experiment with college students to see if loud or soft music affects their heart rates. Higher heart rates mean more excitement, while lower heart rates mean more relaxation.

2. Then, they tested this in a real cafe, playing music at two different volumes (soft at 55 dB and loud at 70 dB) on different days. They observed what people ordered on those days.

3. Finally, they ran more controlled experiments in a lab with different music volumes to see if the results held up outside the cafe.

What did they find?

First, they confirmed that people’s heart rates were higher with loud music. A no-brainer there.

But here’s where it gets interesting. When the music was soft (55 dB), 42.92% of people bought healthy food. But when the music was loud (70 dB), that number dropped to 32.49%.

At the lab, the differences were much higher with 86.36% of participants choosing healthier options with soft music compared to just 56.52% with loud music.

Lesson?

If you want people to choose healthier food, just turn down the volume.

So how does this help YOU?

Use music to your advantage.

We saw that by listening to soft music (around 55 dB) people are more likely to reach for the healthier options — like a salad instead of a bag of chips.

When you head to the supermarket, pop in your earbuds and put up some soft, relaxing tunes. It’ll keep you in a calmer state of mind, making it easier to stick to those healthy choices.

But also, it’s about your state of mind. For the love of kale, don’t go shopping when you’re stressed out or in a rush. If you’re not relaxed, you’re setting yourself up to fail before you even hit the produce aisle.

A big no-no is going to shop or ordering food with loud fast-paced music smashing your ears. It will amplify your stress levels, making you more likely to seek comfort in less-than-healthy foods.

Just change your playlist

You can trick your body into healthier habits more easily than you think.

It’s as easy as changing what you listen to. By just shifting the soundtrack in your ears, you can guide your hand toward healthier options.

It’s the laziest way to get healthier, and it works.

Let the right music set the tone, and watch your choices transform.