It’s music to our ears when we learn that things that make us happy are actually good for us, too. A few years ago, researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore showed that laughter had a cardiovascular benefit. Now the same researchers have shown that joyful music elicits that same kind of heart-healthy response. The music causes endothelial tissue (a layer of cells lining the interior surface of blood vessels) to expand, thereby increasing blood flow to the heart and other vital organs.
“We had previously demonstrated that positive emotions, such as laughter, were good for vascular health,” said lead investigator Michael Miller, MD, director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “A natural extension of the research on laughter was the question of whether other emotions, such as those evoked by music, have a similar effect.”
In Dr. Miller’s latest study, 10 healthy, non-smoking volunteers (70% were men, with mean age of 36) participated in four different study phases in random order. In two of the phases, participants either listened to music they selected that evoked joy and made them feel good, or other music that they said made them feel anxious. In a third phase, the participants listened to relaxation tapes and in the fourth phase participants were shown humorous video clips. When the study volunteers listened to the joyful music, brachial artery (the artery located in the upper arm) flow increased 26% compared with baseline measures. In contrast, when they listened to music that made them feel anxious, the brachial arteries narrowed by 6%. Blood flow increased by 19% during the humorous video phase and by 11% during the relaxation phase. The study results were presented in November at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association.
I asked Dr. Miller how joyful music creates this positive vascular response. He hypothesized that “endorphin-like compounds released from the brain either directly or indirectly interact at the level of the endothelium to release nitric oxide, the chemical that causes vasodilation and a host of other cardio-protective effects.”
The impact of joyful music on the cardiovascular system is quite significant, on a par with what is achieved by engaging in regular aerobic exercise and even some medications. Dr. Miller suggested listening to joyful music 15 to 30 minutes several times weekly as an additional lifestyle measure to improve heart health. You don’t even need to be actively listening — background music can also be beneficial as long as you obtain the positive emotional response.
Interestingly, however, too much of a good thing (listening to the same joyful song over and over again) can reduce its positive cardiovascular effect. Dr. Miller suggests accentuating the response by choosing different selections and rotating them — he recommends listening to each song no more often than every two to four weeks.
Source(s):
Michael Miller, MD, is an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director, Center for Preventive Cardiology, University of Maryland Medical Center.
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