by Mary Calvagna, MS
Ever sit in a traffic jam, cars stacked up, one after the other? Slowly, your
car inches forward. Just as it appears that you may get up to five miles per
hour, the car to your right cuts in front of you. Ugh! You can feel your stress
level and your blood pressure rising in unison.
But, right before you blow your top, your favorite song comes on the radio. You
start to sing. You tap the steering wheel in time to the beat. You may even try
to dance right there in the car. Happily, your blood pressure settles back down.
The magic of music
Music can have an amazing effect on people. It can evoke a memory or make you
want to dance. Whistling while you work seems to make the day go by a little
quicker. There is even a theory called "The Mozart Effect," which relates
listening to Mozart to an increase in IQ points. But can music lower your stress
and your blood pressure? A study published in Psychosomatic Medicine* looked at
the way music affected these levels during a very stressful situation, surgery.
The study included 40 men and women, ages 51 to 87, undergoing outpatient
surgery for cataracts or glaucoma. Half the group was given a tape player and
headphones for use before, during, and after surgery, and was able to select the
type of music they wished to listen to. The other half received no headphones
and heard no music during surgery. Blood pressure levels were measured a week
before surgery, the morning of surgery, continuously throughout the surgery, and
following the surgery.
Blood pressure likes what it hears
As expected, both groups experienced a significant rise in blood pressure the
morning of the surgery. However, the patients who listened to music returned to
their normal blood pressure levels within five minutes of hearing the music.
Their blood pressure stayed at that level during and after the surgery. The
patients without the music had elevated blood pressure levels throughout their
surgeries.
Although both groups reported high degrees of stress before the surgery, the
group who listened to music felt less stress and more control after the surgery.
It is normal for a person to feel a lack of control when it comes to surgery.
Researchers surmised that allowing the patients to listen to the music of their
choice may have increased their feelings of control. This probably helped to
reduce their stress. In addition, the music may have reduced stress by
distracting the patients.
"Music is a safe, enjoyable, inexpensive, noninvasive, and non-drug treatment
with no adverse effects," the studys lead author concluded. Although larger
studies are needed, it appears that music may be a sweet-sounding alternative
for reducing the stress of surgery.
* "Normalization of hypertension responses during ambulatory surgical stress by
perioperative music," by K Allen et al. Psychosomatic Medicine, May/June 2001,
Volume 63, Issue 3, pp. 487-492.