Positive Health Online

Abstract

REINHARDT , Ambulanz fur Hamatologie und Onkologie, Klinikum Bayreuth, Germany studied the influence of musical rhythm upon synchronisation and coordination of heart rate in cancer patients with chronic pain .

Background

Methodology

The author conducted a randomised pilot study with 28 patients suffering chronic cancer pain in a stable phase of cancer. The intervention was a 14-day training of a relaxation therapy for improving falling asleep, which included a 30-minute lullaby-like, rhythmically dominated music with gradually decreasing tempi. The control group received no training. The outcome measures included continuous registration of heart rate and its comparison with musical beat on day 1 and 15; analysis of the degree of synchronisation coordination of systole and musical central time point; time of falling asleep and the patients subjective evaluation of the relaxation therapy and pain intensity.

Results

Patients in the relaxation group showed an increasing synchronisation and coordination of heart rate and musical beat . At a tempo of between 48 and 42 beats per minute there occurred a very stable 2:3 synchronisation. Those patients reporting the best relaxation and analgesic effects showed the most synchronisation. Relaxation therapy led to an improvement of falling asleep and a decrease in consumption of analgesics .

Conclusion

Lullaby-like music within a specific range of tempi may induce a trainable synchronisation of heart rate, associated with the formation and intensity of a relaxation reaction. Although further investigations are promising, substantial improvement in the methodology and documentation of these effects are required.

References

Reinhardt U. Investigations into synchronisation of heart rate and musical rhythm in a relaxation therapy in patients with cancer pain. Forschende Komplementaermedizin 6(3): 135-41. Jun 1999.