MedWire News: Listening to just 30 minutes of music a day can significantly lower high blood pressure, study results suggest.

Music has been previously shown to benefit patient-reported pain or anxiety, explained lead investigator Dr Pietro Modesti, from the University of Florence in Italy. It has also associated with acute reductions in heart rate, implying that it directly affects both the nervous system and cardiovascular function, he said.

The research team investigated 48 patients with mild elevated blood pressure (hypertension) who were currently taking medication. Of these, 28 were asked to listen to classical, Celtic or Indian raga music for at least 30 minutes daily while also practicing slow abdominal breathing exercises. The remaining patients received medication alone.

All the patients had blood pressure monitored at the start of the study's, and again at 1 and 4 weeks thereafter.

The study findings, which were presented during the American Society of Hypertension's Annual Meeting, showed that patients who listened to music daily had significant reductions in blood pressure, with further improvements observed over time. In contrast, the other patients experienced only minimal changes in their pressure readings throughout the study.

"These data show that daily sessions of music listening have an antihypertensive effect," concluded the researchers. It is reassuring to consider that something as simple and enjoyable as music, combined with slow breathing, can help to naturally lower blood pressure, Dr Modesti added.