Other than entertainment, music has a very important role in our life. It develops our brain and the abilities associated with it. Apart from being an essential component of life, scientists have discovered one more advantage of it.
In a new study by the European Society of Cardiology, scientists have suggested that listening to yoga music at bedtime is good for your heart. It has a beneficial impact on heart rate variability before sleeping.
Yoga music, in other words, is a type of soothing or meditative music. The study included 149 healthy people who participated in three sessions on separate nights: (1) yoga music before sleep at night; (2) pop music with steady beats before sleep at night; and (3) no music or silence before sleep at night.
Scientists measured heart rate variability during each session for five minutes before the music or silence started, for ten minutes during the music/silence, and five minutes after it had stopped. They also assessed anxiety levels before and after the session using the Goldberg Anxiety Scale.
Scientists found that the heart rate variability increased during the yoga music, decreased during the pop music, and did not significantly change during the silence.
This suggests, the level of anxiety decreases while listening to yoga music. In addition, the level rose significantly post the pop music, and increased after the no music session. Volunteers also offered positive feedback about the yoga music.
Dr. Sen noted that holistic therapies such as music cannot replace evidence-based drugs and interventions, and should only be used as an add-on.
He said: “Science may have not always agreed, but Indians have long believed in the power of various therapies other than medicines as a mode of treatment for ailments. This is a small study, and more research is needed on the cardiovascular effects of music interventions offered by a trained music therapist. But listening to soothing music before bedtime is a cheap and easy to implement therapy that cannot cause harm.”
The research presented today at ESC Congress 2018.