Music fills your car as you drive, your ears as you work out, and a soundtrack for your favorite movies and TV shows. Music crosses cultural and language barriers and delights children and adults alike. Music may also have the power to improve your health. Various research has shown that music can relieve stress and lower blood pressure.
Step 1
Play background music during stressful situations. Harvard University researchers noted that heart surgery patients who recovered in intensive care units with music playing in the background needed less medication to control their blood pressure than those who were in hospitals where no music was played. Play music in headphones while you undergo dental work, pay bills or during other situations which could potentially raise your blood pressure.
Step 2
Exercise to music. Slip on headphones and turn on music before you set out on a jog on the treadmill or to a session lifting weights. Mark Jude Tramo, a Harvard Medical School neuroscientist, reports that people who exercised on treadmills while listening to music had heart muscles that didn't have to work as hard as those of people who exercised in silence.
Step 3
Schedule regular relaxation periods to listen to soothing music. When Dr. Jean Tang of Seattle University's College of Nursing studied nursing home residents, she found that those who listened to Mozart for several minutes three times a week for four months lowered their systolic blood pressure 5 to 9 mm. Systolic pressure is the top number in a blood pressure reading.
Step 4
Play music that is meaningful to you. While many studies focus on classical music such as Mozart, any music that causes you to feel relaxed may help, from your favorite show tunes to country ballads.
Things You'll Need
- Music player with headphones
