•They found that music lowers pain-intensity levels in dental procedures, MRIs, or injections.
•Anything that distracts us from pain may reduce the extent to which we focus on it.
The phrase ‘Music is my drug’ is commonly used by music lovers. However, the saying may ring truer than first thought as researchers in China have confirmed that music and other kinds of sound can help alleviate acute and chronic pain.
Their research, carried out a the University of Science and Technology and published in Science, embodies an important growing area of investigation into music's effect on reducing anxiety, fear, depression, pain-related distress, and blood pressure.
The research has also found that it lowers pain-intensity levels in traditionally hurtful procedures.
“Using music in these situations distracts your mind, provides a positive experience, and can improve your medical outcome. By uncovering the circuitry that mediates the pain-reducing effects of sound in mice, this study adds critical knowledge that could ultimately inform new approaches for pain therapy,” the researchers say.
Low intensity music with a slower tempo has been shown to have the most positive effect on the degree of pain that we experience.
If being emotionally engaged with music is key to maximising our distraction, there are a variety of factors affecting our emotional relationship with music that we need to understand.
According to co-senior author of the study, Yuanyuan (Kevin) Liu, music therapy is an effective method of what experts call “procedural support,” or helping a patient get through a painful or stressful procedure.
“Other studies have often drawn on theories around how nerve impulses in the central nervous system are affected by our thought processes and emotions. Anything that distracts us from pain may reduce the extent to which we focus on it,” Liu says.
So next time you are anxious about a certain medical procedure while sitting in the waiting room, put your earbuds in and listen to your favorite tunes.