Posted by jujube on December 8, 2004, at 9:55:33 [reposted on December 8, 2004, at 23:22:10 | original URL]
In reply to Music and Depression, posted by SDW on December 8, 2004, at 4:25:48
Isn't there an expression "Music soothes the savage beast"? For me, personally, music is very theurapeutic, no matter how down or anxious I am. It can almost be like a life-source for me, evoking a multitude of emotions over the course of any given day. I start my day with music, and listen to music all day when I can. Even at work, I have a radio on my desk so I can hear music while I work.
An interesting study about the effects of music:
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 study's 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.
poster:jujube
thread:426510
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20041202/msgs/426512.html