Music Tunes Up Cardio Systems

Most people who have ears know that music can help us relax, but wait, that’s just beginning. Music can tune up our cardio system, literally. It can also tune it down. The Scientific American reports that researchers at the University of Pavia in Italy have found that changes in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems mirror musical tempo. The journal reports that the scientists enlisted 24 volunteers—half experienced singers, the remainder with no musical training, and had them listen to five random selections of Beethoven,
Bach, Puccini and other classical artists as well as a two-minute
segment of silence, monitors recorded physiological signals. The
researchers found that selections with crescendos, especially those
with a series of them (think: Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody),
led to proportional constriction of blood vessels and increases in
blood pressure, heart rate and respiration. These measures decreased
during decrescendos and silent periods. The team also found that “rich”
music phrases around 10 seconds long, like those rhythms from famous
arias by Verdi, caused heart rate and other parts of the cardiovascular
system to synchronize with the music. Sciam reports that both the musicians and non-musicians experienced this
entrainment, although the musicians showed a stronger response.
Read more, and turn up the Beethoven.