--- title: Here's the Perfect Wake-Up Playlist, According to Spotify description: The music streaming service enlisted a psychology expert to curate the ideal set of tunes to get you out of bed in the morning. canonical: https://time.com/4422049/these-are-the-best-songs-to-wake-up-to-in-the-morning-according-to-a-psychologist/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-25T17:15:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:34:45.719Z og:title: Spotify Created a Shrink-Tested Wake-Up Playlist og:description: The streaming service enlisted a music psychology expert to curate the list. og:url: https://time.com/4422049/these-are-the-best-songs-to-wake-up-to-in-the-morning-according-to-a-psychologist/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb75ed7f97c56ba64/698894835f570f0791b210be/gettyimages-506028296.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5178 og:image:height: 2913 og:image:alt: Spotify og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Spotify Created a Shrink-Tested Wake-Up Playlist twitter:description: The streaming service enlisted a music psychology expert to curate the list. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb75ed7f97c56ba64/698894835f570f0791b210be/gettyimages-506028296.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Are the Best Songs to Wake Up to in the Morning According to a Psychologist > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=956545b6-66e3-4b41-a7e7-824d96f1dc09&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 25, 2016 5:15 PM UTC  BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 21: The Logo of streeming service Spotify is displayed on the screen of a smartphone on January 21, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images) BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 21: The Logo of streeming service Spotify is displayed on the screen of a smartphone on January 21, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images) Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 25, 2016 5:15 PM UTC Music streaming service Spotify is here to help us make our lives easier. Step one: get out of bed, thanks to the right tunes. Spotify partnered with psychology [PhD candidate](http://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/dmg39@cam.ac.uk) David M. Greenberg to put together [the perfect playlist for waking up](https://play.spotify.com/user/spotifyusa/playlist/3uz1GV5nKYM4XPhBJagqgy) in the morning. The 20-song list kicks off with Coldplay’s uplifting “Viva La Vida,” and also includes timeless jams like Bill Withers’s “Lovely Day,” and the very literal “Wake Me Up” by Avicii. The secret to getting you out of bed, according to the service? The songs build slowly, send a positive message, and have a strong beat. Thanks, science, for making our mornings just a little bit better. And for other challenging moments in your day, when the right music might be of assistance, Spotify has you covered: they crowd-sourced their [ultimate workout playlist](http://time.com/2912965/ultimate-workout-playlist/), and there’s even a selection of songs curated by a gynecologist [just for giving birth.](http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/nyc-doctor-collaborates-spotify-create-playlist-giving-birth/story?id=37397515) Preview the songs below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4422049/these-are-the-best-songs-to-wake-up-to-in-the-morning-according-to-a-psychologist/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4422049/these-are-the-best-songs-to-wake-up-to-in-the-morning-according-to-a-psychologist/"},"headline":"These Are the Best Songs to Wake Up to in the Morning According to a Psychologist","datePublished":"2016-07-25T17:15:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:34:45.719Z","description":"Don't sleep on this playlist","url":"https://time.com/4422049/these-are-the-best-songs-to-wake-up-to-in-the-morning-according-to-a-psychologist/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Psychology","Music","Coldplay","Workout"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb75ed7f97c56ba64/698894835f570f0791b210be/gettyimages-506028296.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb75ed7f97c56ba64/698894835f570f0791b210be/gettyimages-506028296.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Spotify","caption":"Spotify","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4422049/these-are-the-best-songs-to-wake-up-to-in-the-morning-according-to-a-psychologist/","name":"These Are the Best Songs to Wake Up to in the Morning According to a Psychologist"}}]}] ```