Listening to music may help you recover faster after surgery, finds a US study presented at the American College of Surgeons’ Clinical Congress. To examine the role of music in postoperative recovery, researchers analysed 35 papers.
Listening to music after surgery had noticeable effects on patient outcomes, such as pain and anxiety, as well as measures of heart rate and opioid use. Patients who listened to music reported significant reduction in pain and anxiety the day after surgery. “When patients wake up after surgery, sometimes they feel really scared and don’t know where they are,” said the senior author. “Music can help ease the transition from the waking up stage to a return to normalcy and may help reduce stress around that transition.”
Patients who listened to music used less than half the amount of morphine the day after surgery compared with those who did not listen to music. Patients who listened to music also had a lower heart rate which can improve recovery by allowing effective circulation of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, especially to areas that were operated on. Music may help reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol which could play a role in easing patients’ recovery from surgery.
