According to a new study, music could help reduce stress before getting anaesthesia. Medications like midazolam are commonly prescribed to patients to help calm the nerves before the procedure.
Now, a team of researchers, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, say that soothing music can have a similar effect. Previous studies have found music can be a helpful oral form of sedative medication. However, this study is the first to investigate music medicine with an intravenous form of sedative medication.
For the study, 157 participants were randomly assigned to either of two options before the peripheral nerve block:
- One group were given an injection of 1-2 mg of midazolam.
- The second group were provided with a pair of noise-cancelling headphones playing Marconi Union's 'Weightless' an eight-minute song.
Next, the team evaluated levels of anxiety before and after each method was used. The results showed the changes in levels of anxiety were similar in both groups. However, those that received midazolam were more satisfied with their experience and had fewer communication issues.
"Our findings show that there are drug-free alternatives to help calm a patient before certain procedures, like nerve blocks,"study's lead author Veena Graff, an assistant professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Critical Care, told a news portal. Adding," We've rolled out a new process at our ambulatory surgical centre to provide patients who want to listen to music with access to disposable headphones. Ultimately, our goal is to offer music as an alternative to help patients relax during their perioperative period."
Further research is needed to understand how music can be beneficial for this purpose. The study's findings were originally published in the Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.
Music has been found to have several benefits. One study found it can even help studies score better marks in exams. "It is believed that students who spend school time in music classes, rather than in further developing their skills in math, science and English classes, will underperform in those disciplines. Our research suggests that, in fact, the more they study music, the better they do in those subjects," Peter Gouzouasis, lead author of the study, told a news portal. Adding,"Students who participated in music, who had higher achievement in music, and who were highly engaged in music had higher exam scores across all subjects, while these associations were more pronounced for those who took instrumental music rather than vocal music."
