The Brief

It’s a common belief that music soothes the soul. But some researchers and healthcare companies say it can be used to heal the mind — and maybe the body.

Several popular apps claim to help relieve anxiety through music, meditations and mindfulness. A company in Los Angeles takes that idea further: It’s seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration to prescribe music treatments for specific mental health conditions, such as generalized anxiety disorder.

A recent study out of UC Irvine found that listening mindfully to improvisational jazz was linked to a decrease in pain and anxiety for some patients.

Sean Young, lead author of the study, told LAist that just as doctors prescribe opioids for chronic pain, “you could imagine that prescribing something like jazz or certain sounds might be in the future of what we can do in helping patients with pain or other kinds of clinical, mental, behavioral health issues.”

Alpha brain waves and ‘restorative music’ 

Sona Labs, an L.A.-based company that bills itself as “music as medicine,” is seeking FDA approval for its music treatment so that mental health professionals can prescribe them for conditions like generalized anxiety disorder.

Sona’s founder, Neal Sarin, said music compositions created with the company’s proprietary technique have been shown in tests to increase alpha waves in listeners’ brains.

Alpha waves are a type of electrical activity in the brain that are typically present when a person is calm — like when they are meditating or daydreaming. There are five common types of brainwaves: gamma, beta, alpha, theta and delta, with gamma associated with high alertness and concentration.

Sarin, a musician and former music executive, said he gives musicians certain parameters, like keeping beats per minute below 65 and using soft tones, in order to produce music he said increases alpha brain wave activity.

The result is dulcet soundscapes with transitions that ebb and flow like ocean waves.

The concept came to him around 2015, Sarin said, when he was experimenting with his own musical compositions. His idea was to make music that could bring on the calming effects he’d experienced with his meditation practice, just by listening to it.

By 2019, he had composed roughly 10 minutes of serene music.

“You know, I was feeling kind of sedated after listening to it. But it was also having that effect on family and friends as well,” Sarin said.

Sarin developed a proprietary, 10-step composition process he said can consistently yield what he calls “restorative music” that increases alpha waves in the brain. He and his team built an app where users can listen to his specialized music.

The app uses artificial intelligence to recommend music to users, but all of the compositions are created by humans, Sarin said.

In 2022, the FDA approved Sona’s plans for clinical trials, and Sarin is trying to raise money to see that through, he said.

Does it work?

Dr. Robert Knight, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC Berkeley, conducted a study at Sarin’s request to try to measure what was going on in the brain when people listened to Sona compositions.

Knight study used electroencephalography — a process in which electrodes attached to the scalp measure electrical activity in the brain.

The study showed that alpha brain waves were increased when a group of people listened to Sona music over a selection of pop music. The alpha brain waves were increased by 13% in the group listening to Sona music over the other group.

“It definitely worked,” Knight said.

He said there is some precedent for what might be called digital medicine, software and app-based interventions that aim to treat mental-health-related or other symptoms. He points to a San Francisco-based company that received FDA approval for a video game designed to treat ADHD symptoms in children.

“So you’re seeing this, I guess it could be ‘digital-ceuticals’ if you will. ‘Electro-ceuticals’ in some ways.’ ... So it’s not out of the question,” Knight said.

According to Knight, products like the ones Sona produces could meet a real need if they can show scientifically that the music is helpful for people with specific conditions, including anxiety.

“Which is very pervasive in the modern world and, in my experience, only getting more intense, anxiety in general,” Knight told LAist.

According to a report last year from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of American adults with anxiety symptoms saw a “significant increase” between 2019 and 2022, to 18.2%, from 15.6%.

Daniel Levitin — author of the book “I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music As Medicine” and a neuroscientist who lectures at UCLA — said research has shown that music can alter heart and breathing rate.

“There’s a lot of evidence that music — even when you control for all the other factors, you try to parcel out the placebo effect — music relieves anxiety, stress, muscle tension. It leads to better mood. It can relieve depression ... not every person and in every case,” Levitin said.

Still, Levitin said he’s skeptical of any person telling you a certain song will relax you. Or an app that’s one-size-fits-all.

The UC Irvine study found that mindful listening to improvisational jazz, like “Have You Met Miss Jones?” by the Oscar Peterson Trio, was linked with a decrease in pain and anxiety for patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Young, lead author on the study, said that although the results of the study were clear, we don’t really know why the mindful jazz listening group had decreased pain and anxiety.

“There haven’t really been many studies prescribing certain types of sounds and testing that, or prescribing certain types of music,” Young told LAist.

The musician will see you now 

Nailah Hunter, a Los Angeles-based harpist who has composed music for an app that aims to help people reduce anxiety.

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Ben Kalra

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Sarin said he’s worked with more than a dozen composers to produce music for Sona, including L.A.-based harpist Nailah Hunter.

Hunter said there’s been a lot of crossover between the music and wellness spaces in the last several years.

“Ever since COVID, it just kind of burst, and it’s because people need it,” Hunter said.

It’s not just Sona, companies like Calm offer a vast library of music intended for users to improve their wellbeing.

German-based Endel uses artificial intelligence to generate soundscapes to help users chill out. Spotify has playlists like “Stress Relief” and “Relax and Unwind.” And Angelenos have a wide array of local soundbaths and ambient music experiences they can attend on any given day.

Hunter said she wouldn’t mind living in a world in which someone dealing with anxiety is prescribed a musical experience.

“I think that’s beautiful. ... We are always kind of self-prescribing music. But it would feel nice to have it be respected and kind of upheld by the medical institution,” Hunter said.

“Because it does work.”

Olivia Rodrigo’s upcoming Daisy Chain Fields festival in Irvine sold out brutally fast. If you missed out on tickets, you’re in luck.

The “Driver’s License” artist has partnered with the nonprofit L.A. Works to give Livies a chance at experiencing the all-woman lineup on Aug. 29. The organization is giving out 125 pairs of tickets — with a catch.

How the giveaway works

L.A. Works is determining who gets the general admission tickets through a “volunteer drive” called Daisy Chain Reaction. The drive’s events are focused on supporting women and girls in Southern California.

For a chance to win, your first step is to sign up to volunteer with L.A. Works. Then, the drive has to hit a collective hours goal for the giveaway to be “unlocked.” Between now and 7 p.m. Aug. 20, volunteers need to log at least 1,000 verified hours.

Each participant gets entered into the giveaway based on how many verified hours they volunteered. One hour counts as one entry (no maximum), so the more you volunteer, the higher your chances.

The winners will be picked through a random drawing, and you’ll be contacted via email if you get a pair. To be eligible you must:

• Be at least 18 years old at the time of winning
• Have an active L.A. Works account in good standing
• Opt in to the giveaway when registering for an eligible Daisy Chain Reaction volunteer opportunity
• Be a resident of the U.S.

Where to volunteer

The volunteer opportunities are based in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Some may have a waitlist.

Currently, there are 16 events (many of them recurring) spread out across L.A. County. That includes serving breakfast near MacArthur Park, helping with soil restoration in Altadena and passing out back-to-school backpacks in Montebello.

On the other hand, Orange County currently has just three on the roster. That includes packing food in Irvine and helping out at a STEM event for middle-school girls in Santa Ana. L.A. Works says it’s trying to add more O.C. events.

You can find all of the volunteer opportunities here — just make sure the one you pick has “DCR” in the title or mentions the giveaway in the description.

If you sign up, make sure you can attend. Participants who no-show more than one day will be disqualified from the giveaway.

Americans almost universally prefer cars with automatic transmissions, leading to a slow decline of manual car sales in the states. Less than 1% of new cars made for sale in the U.S. last year were stick shifts, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's latest motor trends report, an all-time low.

But that doesn’t mean people aren't still driving them — or at least reminiscing over the times they did.

Americans are keeping and driving older cars for longer than ever according to the Wall Stree Journal, and teens regularly learn to drive on the family beater. On a recent episode of LAist 89.3’s talk news program AirTalk, listeners shared what it is about driving a manual transmission that’s so enticing, and why they continue to.

Keeping the tradition going

Anna in Highland Park called in and said she learned to drive stick from her father in the ‘90s, and only made the switch from her manual 2007 Toyota Yaris to an automatic a few years ago. But she didn’t part with the old wheels.

“I just taught my 16-year-old daughter to drive it," she said. “Of course she didn’t when I first tried to make her learn it, but she loves it now.”

Dennis Chernyukhin, who gives stick-shift lessons to people in California through his company SHIFTR, said that a big share of his students are teenagers who sign up in order to learn on a family car.

"The parents are nostalgic about how they learned to drive when they were younger, and so they want to pass on that skill,” he said.

Terrifying lessons, lasting love

 ”We got to a red light, and my dad just got out of the car, looked at me and said, ‘Good luck, son. You're ready to go.’ He shut the door, and the light turned green, and there I was,” Jared in Silverlake said. “I was so scared, but I put it in first, I was off.”

The lesson stuck with Jared, and over time he developed a skill of listening for when to shift gears and get the best gas mileage. He drives an automatic car now, but still drives with only one hand saying, “that’s how I learned with stick.”

Feeling connected to the machine

Across the board, callers said driving a manual transmission makes them feel more in tune with the car.

Terry in Studio City said he learned to drive stick when he was 15, and now at 73, he still has never bought a car with an automatic transmission. He drives a 2003 Toyota Tacoma. People often approach him offering to buy the truck. He shoots down their offers every time.

“You’re just connected to the car," echoed John in Hancock Park. "I learned how to drive stick shift when I was 15 on my dad’s old Saab, and there’s just nothing better.”

Saving a buck on a trip abroad

Across Europe, stick shifts are more common, with about 29% of new cars sold with manual transmissions across the big five countries there, according to automotive data company JATO. They're also notably cheaper to rent than their automatic cousins, Booking.com notes.

But back before their wider adoption in Europe, automatic cars were a rarity — a lesson Mary from Indio learned after her father taught her and her sister how to drive stick.

“ We went to Europe and wanted to drive through Europe,” she said. “You couldn't even get an automatic. And so we drove through France, Italy, and Switzerland for 16 days with an Audi stick shift."

Is the end nigh for stick shifts?

Looking at trendlines, it may seem like stick shifts are soon to be a thing of the past. But Chernyukhin said that the teaching biz is pretty good, for a seemingly paradoxical reason.

“What we’ve seen is that as the skill becomes more rare, the demand increases correspondingly,” he said. “There’s no comparable experience to having a clutch pedal and a shifter and fully controlling the car.”

Listen to the full AirTalk conversation below to hear about the niche jobs that still require you to know how to drive stick.

Long Beach is hoping to help keep older residents from falling into homelessness with a new program that offers them limited rental subsidies of $400 to $500 a month.

The money, available through the Older Adult Shallow Subsidy program, is meant to temporarily reduce the burden of rent while people pursue long-term solutions, like affordable housing.

The program is for households that include at least one older adult, defined as anyone age 62 or older, or age 55 or older with a disability.

To qualify, applicants must:

• live in non-subsidized rental housing in Long Beach
• be experiencing severe rent burden (spending 70% or more of income on rent)
• demonstrate the ability to pay rent consistently with shallow subsidy assistance
• have a household income at or below 50% of the Area Median Income (That’s $58,300 for a household of one, up to $110,000 for a household of eight.)

Eligible renters may receive up to $12,000 over two years, with additional support available in extenuating circumstances.

If deemed eligible, participants will also receive light-touch case management, which includes quarterly check-ins and connection to supportive services.

How to apply

Applications are available in English, Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog here. They will remain open until all subsidy slots are filled. You can also apply in person Monday through Thursday at the Multi-Service Center or Mondays and Wednesdays at the Long Beach Senior Center.

The program will prioritize households whose existing rental assistance or housing subsidy has expired or is scheduled to expire within the next 60 days. Those include households that received vouchers, were in the rapid rehousing program, homelessness prevention program or other rental assistance programs where financial support is ending.

Other factors that could lead to an application being prioritized include urgency of eviction risk, disabling conditions, fixed-income status and prior experiences of homelessness.

The program is funded with $1.8 million from a mix of state funding secured by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, the Los Angeles County Measure A sales tax and state grant funding.

Why older adults?

Even as Long Beach has increased spending on homelessness outreach and housing services, it hasn’t been able to keep pace with the number of people falling into homelessness.

This year, 12.4% of people tallied in the annual homeless count reported they were newly homeless, up from 10.9% last year.

This year’s count also found an increase in the number of residents over 55 who were experiencing homelessness (1,096 this year compared to 1,023 last year).

“Older adults living on fixed incomes are increasingly vulnerable to housing instability as rents continue to rise across the region,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement.

Other options for rental subsidies

The program is part of Upstream LB, a three-pronged city initiative announced last year aimed at preventing housing instability.

In April, the city launched its first Renter Aid Program to provide short-term rental assistance for about 250 households.

Thus far, city officials say the Renter Aid program has received more than 3,500 applications and about 50 households have been enrolled.

A separate program targeting Long Beach residents ages 18-25 who are at high risk of homelessness was originally scheduled to launch in July but hasn’t yet started. It aims to help about 50 people in its first year with a budget of $750,000.

The post Long Beach starts offering rental subsidies to older adults. Here’s how to apply. appeared first on LA Local.

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Why it matters: Owner Barbara Burrell has spent three decades building Sky's into a paragon of Black ownership on a stretch that's lost several other Black-owned institutions in recent years, including Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N Waffles' Pico location in 2023 and My 2 Cents last summer. Burrell cited rising rent and utility costs, diminished foot traffic and competition from ghost kitchens, per reporting from the L.A. Times and Eater L.A.

Food writer Bill Esparza called Sky's "the pinnacle of the Black taco in Los Angeles." He told LAist the lasting influence of Sky's, which helped define a genre, will now be felt in a new wave of Black-owned taco vendors and pop-ups.

"It's like we're losing the Caesar's Restaurant of the Black taco scene," he said, comparing it to the Tijuana restaurant credited with inventing the Caesar salad.

Why now: The business will remain family-run, according to Eater L.A., with Burrell's son and daughter-in-law continuing to lead operations as the focus shifts to catering.

The backstory: Burrell opened Sky's in 1992, building her own "Mexican with a splash of soul" approach — tacos dressed with cheese, lettuce and sour cream over seasoned meats — into a defining thread in Black Angeleno food culture. That approach would later be echoed at spots like Worldwide Tacos and Taco Mell.

Esparza said that type of cuisine represents a connection between Black and Mexican styles of cooking dating back to the Hot Tamale Trail of the Mississippi Delta, where tamale-making took hold in Black Southern communities generations before migrating west. Nearby, Stevie's Creole Cafe and CJ's Cafe remain open, anchoring what's left of Mid-City's Black-owned restaurant row.