If
music be the food of love ... then it also lowers cholesterol
by
John Harlow
Take a tune and come back
to see me in the morning. Doctors have found that prescribing
music can improve heart health and lower cholesterol levels.
Their research found that if a patient listens to 30 minutes
a day of their favourite music, it does more than relaxing
them mentally – it also benefits them physically
by expanding and clearing blood vessels.
Doctors have tried the method on some patients in America
and it has been welcomed by British experts. It is believed
to work by triggering the release into the bloodstream
of nitric oxide, which helps to prevent the build-up of
blood clots and harmful cholesterol.
The findings are part of a growing body of research into
the effects of music on the human body. Scientists have
found that songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Madonna
can improve endurance, while 18th-century symphonies can
improve mental focus.
When it comes to the effect on the bloodstream, however,
the key is not the type of music but what the listener
prefers. The same is true of volume and tempo.
“The music effect lasts in the bloodstream for only
a few seconds but the accumulative benefit of favourite
tunes lasts and can be very positive in people of all
ages,” said Michael Miller, director of the Center
for Preventive Cardiology at Maryland University, who
carried out the research.
He added: “We were looking for cheaper, nonpharmacological
aids to help us improve our patients’ heart health
and we think this is the prescription.”
The Maryland study, based on healthy nonsmoking men and
women with an average age of 36, found the diameter of
blood vessels in the upper arm expanded by 26% in volunteers
listening to music they found enjoyable.
Miller said blood vessel expansion indicated that nitric
oxide was being released throughout the body, reducing
clots and LDL, a form of cholesterol linked to heart attacks.
He also warned that listening to stressful music, which
for many in the experiments included heavy metal and rap,
can shrink blood vessels by 6% – the same effect,
according to previous experiments, as eating a large hamburger.
Miller also advised parents to avoid listening to their
teenage children’s music if it upset them because
it could be the aural equivalent of passive smoking. “I
like Merseybeat-era Beatles and Julia from their White
Album and you cannot get two more different types of song,
but I think both work for my heart,” he said.
His findings follow a study by Brunel University, in west
London, which confirmed what gym owners have known for
years – that music can improve mood and boost athletic
performance.
In experiments on 30 volunteers, Costas Karageorghis,
the researcher, found that tracks from Madonna and Red
Hot Chili Peppers, as well as Queen and Rihanna, the R&B
singer, increased endurance on a treadmill by up to 15%.
Most participants did not realise they were working harder.
Music may “pump” the brain as well as the
body. At Stanford University, near San Francisco, researchers
found that listening to 18th-century symphonies helped
to improve listeners’ focus between movements, when
they mentally updated shopping lists.
Chris McCallum-Banks, 29, a financial consultant from
London, said he found music essential in his training
for next year’s New York marathon: “I’ve
noticed a real change on training days when I forget my
MP3 player, especially on the cardio-intensive exercises.
“When you hit the ‘wall’, having the
right tune playing can be the difference between breaking
through it and giving up.”
On that happy note
Music can relax the listener – or have the opposite
effect
— Motivate yourself with positive-sounding artists
such as Rihanna, Queen or Red Hot Chili Peppers
— Ozzy Osbourne and MIA are likely to make you feel
more stressed
— Calm down with Mozart or Miles Davis
— Improve mental focus with the symphonies of Bach
or more modern music by Philip Glass
MORE
INFORMATION
This article first appeared
in the Times On-Line in December, 2008. Their website
can be found at www.timesonline.co.uk
Music without words means leaving behind the mind. And leaving behind the mind is meditation.
Meditation returns you to the source. And the source of all is sound. — Kabir
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