Imagine you’re feeling unwell and have to take medicine. Listening to your favourite songs while taking the medicine might make it work better. Researchers at Michigan State University found that music isn’t just good for lifting your spirits—it can also help medicines do their job more effectively. While past studies focused on using music to alleviate pain and anxiety, this research explored its impact on chemotherapy-induced nausea.
Viewing nausea as a neurological rather than solely a stomach-related issue, the study involved 12 chemotherapy patients who listened to their favourite music for 30 minutes whenever they took their anti-nausea medication. Over five days post-chemotherapy, these patients used the music intervention whenever nausea occurred, resulting in 64 instances recorded. While the reduction in nausea severity and distress was observed, distinguishing between the impact of gradual medication release and music’s added benefit proved challenging.
“Pain and anxiety are both neurological phenomena and are interpreted in the brain as a state,” says Jason Kiernan, an assistant professor in the College of Nursing. “Chemotherapy-induced nausea is not a stomach condition; it is a neurological one. This was intriguing because it provides a neurochemical explanation and a possible way to measure serotonin and the blood platelet release of serotonin in my study,” he added.
The research advises:
- Music-listening interventions, beyond boosting mood, can enhance medication effectiveness.
- The study focused on chemotherapy-induced nausea and found that listening to music reduced both the severity of nausea and the distress it caused.
For complete research, click here