Music with this ‘personal’ characteristic can relieve pain

Your favorite song may not only raise your souls – it can also help relieve your pain.

The music has long been greeted as a powerful therapeutic tool, but the science behind its effects that grow the brain is still unfolding.

New research suggests that the secret can stay at the temp, and adapting the beating to your rhythm can maintain the pain relief key.

“In the past, it has often been suggested that the soothing or relaxing music function best as a painkillers,” said Caroline Palmer, a professor at the Department of Psychology at McGill University and co-author of the study.

“But that didn’t seem quite accurate. So we tried to investigate if the tempo – the degree to which a fragment is produced and one of the essential elements of music – can affect its ability to reduce pain.”

Previous research has shown that every person has a unique, natural pace when performing actions such as walking, applauding or playing an instrument. This phenomenon, called the degree of spontaneous production, is thought to be associated with our circadian rhythm.

McGill researchers asked themselves: Can synchronization of music at that natural pace help reduce pain?

To prove their theory, they recorded 60 participants-some musicians, others who were asked to touch the pace of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” with the rhythm they felt more comfortable for them on a sensitive pillow to touch, which captured their natural tempo.

Next, they underwent participants at low levels of pain, whether while they were quiet or listening to music placed at their favorite pace, or at a 15% faster or slower rate.

The results were promising. Researchers found that music of any kind and in whatever tempo significantly reduced participants’ perception of pain compared to silence.

In particular, they appreciated their lower pain levels when the tunes were played with the rhythm that matched their natural tempo.

“It is possible that the nerve shakes that are responsible for running our favorite temple at a particular pace are more easily attracted when a musical tempo is closer to our natural tempo,” said Mathieu Roy, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology in McGill and the author of the best co-worker. “As a result, they withdraw from the nerve frequencies associated with pain.”

For centuries, music has been appreciated for its soothing qualities, helping people rest, explore their emotions, and regulate moods.

Research shows that it can affect brain chemistry, stimulating dopamine production, pleasure hormone and decreased cortisol, “war or flight” hormone. This explains why musical therapy has been shown to effectively relieve anxiety, depression and chronic stress.

Musical therapy is also commonly used in physical rehabilitation. For example, rhythmic auditory stimulation is used to improve motor skills in patients healing from a stroke or traumatic brain.

The McGill team said their findings open the door to use personalized music to reduce pain.

Next, they plan to use electroencephalography to monitor nervous activity and confirm that the neuronal firing rate matches the tempo of music. They also hope to test their method for people who deal with chronic pain or pain associated with medical procedures.