Hypertensives were advised to listen to music after taking medication

New research results conducted by specialists from the University of São Paulo, Juazeiro do Norte College, and ABC Medical School (Brazil) were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The study involved 37 patients suffering from hypertension. All of them regularly took medications to lower blood pressure for six months to a year. One day, participants listened to instrumental music through headphones for one hour immediately after taking their medication. On another day, two days later, everything was the same, except the headphones were turned off. In both cases, the researchers monitored the variability of the participants' heart rates 10 minutes before taking the medication, as well as 20, 40, and 60 minutes after taking it. Heart rate variability is an important indicator of how the cardiovascular system functions and interacts with other body systems.

It was found that on the days when participants listened to music after taking their pills, the medications were more effective compared to the days when the headphones were turned off. During the "musical" hour, both heart rate and blood pressure were fully normalized, whereas without music, the effects of the medications were not as impressive.

The researchers suggested that this phenomenon is based on the following mechanism: music stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and calms the sympathetic nervous system. While the activity of the sympathetic nervous system is associated with increased heart rate, constriction of blood vessels, and elevated blood pressure, the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for relaxation, decreasing heart rate and blood pressure, and stabilizing blood sugar and adrenaline levels. By stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, the activity of the gastrointestinal tract increases, meaning the absorption of medications to lower blood pressure is enhanced.