Music as a medicine: Incorporating music into standard hospital care

Abstract

Television programs with emotionally stressful content cause a significant increase in heart rate, blood pressure and the production of stress hormones (Gerra et al. 1996); whereas humorous programs can exercise a positive influence on the body's immunological state (Dillon et al. 1985-1986). For example, suitable videos with animal scenes cause significant reduction in blood pressure just after ten minutes (Wells 2005). Phenomena such as these are the subject of the interdisciplinary research area called psycho-neuro-immunology, which investigates, for instance, how stress can influence immunological factors. Negative changes to such immunological factors cause an increase in infection rates that in turn can promote the occurrence or worsening of pathological conditions. According to the American cardiologist Herbert Benson, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, up to 90% of all visits to doctors can be attributed to chronic stress and mental pressure1. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Vienna.