Listening to music can be effective for reducing pain in high-anxiety persons

Interesting study with decent sample size of 145 subjects that experienced controlled pain while focusing on music.   The idea is that music helps reduce pain because it activates sensory pathways that compete with the pain pathways and the data seems to back this up.  What was super interesting was that they got the participants to rank their anxiety about the pain before hand and had hypothesized that those with high anxiety with the pain would be least affected by the music.  Turns out the opposite - apparently the more anxious you are about the pain - the more likely it is that the music will have a positive and soothing effect. 

 

How music prevents organ rejection

research from Japan on Mice - the only thing you need to know is this:

"They found that opera and classical music both increased the time before the transplanted organs failed, but single frequency monotones and new age music did not."

take that Yanni!

 

Practice may not make perfect

I like this article - not least because the dataset involved over a thousand twins!  Bottom line - no amount of practicing is going to turn you into a pro unless you have a genetic predisposition.  So - sorry to all the people out there who tell their kids "You can do anything you want if you just try hard enough." yes it's a nice sentiment but the real world doesn't work that way.  It reminds me of student athletes who are promised they could play in the pros one day but whose parents gifted them a smaller frame than their competition.  It doesn't matter how hard you work - if you're 8 inches shorter than the other guy - it's going to be tough!

 

Prolonged Exposure to Loud Noise Alters Speech Processing

Should be required reading for all teenagers (and anybody for that matter) who live with their earbuds in.  We knew about high volumes damaging the hair cells (although I hadn't realized it was permanent) but this study would indicate that the damage is also replicated ins the auditory cortex - which will affect how you process speech and conversation.  The big takeaway - be careful with your volume - I really do suspect that there's going to be a whole generation that is hard of hearing later on in life!

#musictoworkto #musictherapy #musicandpain

Written while listening to: Minecraft Playlist

Image Credit: Quinn Dombrowski - Flickr