Scientists have long been studying the power of sound in general and music in particular for relieve pain. Benefits have even been observed in infants, whose response to pain caused by a heel test can be significantly reduced by a Mozart lullaby. But according to a new study, at least for adults, the effect of this intervention will largely depend on whether they enjoy listening to Mozart.
Its authors University of Montreal, wanted to delve even deeper into what is known about the relationship between music and pain. In particular, they sought to find out whether any music is valid or, on the contrary, whether each person’s preferences are important. And the truth is, yes.
Using a simple experiment, they confirmed that thermal pain signal, which simulated the effect of a cup of hot tea on the forearm, was perceived much more smoothly when participants listened to their favorite performers. In addition, the emotions that the melodies evoked also greatly contributed to the reduction of pain. This is another step towards presenting music as one of the many pain-relieving tools we have.
It is clear that we will not be able to remove the wisdom tooth. without anesthesia while we listen to Estremoduro, but of course if we did, the situation would be less traumatic and we would feel a little less pain. At least that’s what this study suggests.
Why can music reduce pain?
The mechanisms by which music may reduce pain are not entirely clear. However, there are hypotheses related to release of endorphins. These are substances produced in the brain that are typically associated with happiness and positive mood, but have more effects.
For example, they can interfere with the transmission of pain signals through nerve fibers. This is why it is believed that situations that release endorphins, such as sex or exercise, can help reduce pain.
Practically any pleasant situation This is due to the release of endorphins. There couldn’t be less music, but it’s logical to think that the song we like is better. If you hate reggaeton, it’s unlikely to help you deal with the pain. But if you enjoy it, it may have a positive effect.
A very promising experiment
To check how much impact this has music selection To reduce pain, the authors of this study asked all participants about their favorite artists.
Further, the same painful stimulus and they were forced to listen 7 minutes of silence or music. In the case of music, this can be any song that will serve as a control, or a song from the selected artist.
Thus, it was seen that the subjective perception of pain was significantly lower with increasing pain. Favorite artistsfollowed by control music and finally silence, in which no effects were observed.
The analgesic role of music is often associated with its ability to relax. Therefore, relaxing songs were chosen among the control themes. However, it didn’t matter.
The importance of emotions
Participants were not only asked about their perception of pain after listening to music. They were also interviewed about emotions generated by him. Thus, it was clear that the songs considered as moving They were the ones that relieved the pain the most.
It should be noted that this study has some limitations. For example, it was studied with very short music recordings. It would be necessary to test whether listening to relaxing music for a longer period of time could overcome the effects of participants’ favorite artists.
It is also important to note that it was carried out only with a thermal painful stimulus. For this reason, the authors themselves state in a statement that it would be interesting to repeat the study with mechanical painfor example, caused by a blow.
Either way, it makes a lot of sense. Music releases endorphins, but it also distracts us from pain. For any person, the song of a favorite musician or band is much more pleasant and distracting. This would be the perfect pain reliever. Or at least one of the many we can find outside of our medicine cabinets.
Source: Hiper Textual
