Study finds playing music during surgery helps reduce need for drugs and promote fast recovery

Music therapy can help patients a lot. (Picture Credit: Pexels)

We have always deemed music as an instant mood uplifter, right? Whether you're upset, frustrated or feeling hopeless in life, most of us literally go to our playlist to play a music of our choice. Well, a study was conducted where instrumental music was played during surgery and it really helped patients to recover well.

The peer review study was conducted at Lok Nayak hospital and Mualana Azad medical college in India and music was played while patients were undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery, a standard operation done to remove the gallbladder.

The study was published in the journal Music and Medicine and it was conducted between March 2023 and January 2025. The test was experimented on 56 patients who fell in the age group of 18 to 65 years.

So, patients undergoing the aforementioned surgery are generally given Propofol which helps reduce the consciousness of patients within seconds. It typically lasts for an hour and around 5 to 6 blend of drugs are needed to make a patient fall asleep. The experiment of playing music was carried out to reduce the requirement of anaesthesia and help reduce perioperative stress.

Also read: From walking with a stick to now doing pilates at 86, know Salman Khan's step mother's fitness secret

So, analysis centered around how much dosage of propofol was needed for patients who got music therapy and how much dosage was given to patients who were operated without any music being played.

All 56 patients got an anti-nausea drug, a sedative, fentanyly, propofol and a muscle relaxant. Interestingly, all of them wore noise-cancelling headphones, but only one group listened to music.

There were two choices available and patients had to choose between a soft flue or piano. A lot of them chose a flue composition that had a blend of Hindustani ragas Yaman and Kirwani. Can you guess the result of the experiment? Well, you may be surprised to know that patients who listened to music required less propofol. On average, patients who listened to music needed 6.7 mg per kg of propofol per hour in comparison to 7.86 mg per kg for patients who didn't listen to music.

Interestingly, the ones who listened to music also required less dosage of fentanyl, the painkiller that is used to control the spike in blood pressure or heart rate during surgery.

Another thing that was ascertained through this experiment was the physiological stress through serum cortisol. It goes without saying now that patients who listened to music reported less stress. Postoperative cortisol levels in the control group rose to an average of 536 IU per ml, while those in the music group averaged 417 IU per ml.

Also read: AI is competing with humans in THIS area too; We bet you won't be able to guess

The conclusion of the study was that "receptive music therapy may be used as a safe and effective non-pharmacological aid to reduce intraoperative anaesthetic requirements and improve overall patient outcome with no adverse effects”.

Disclaimer: This article, including health and fitness advice, only provides generic information. Don’t treat it as a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for specific health diagnosis.