Keep Blood Pressure at Bay, Listen to the Ocean or Mozart

During my college years, people were always telling me that listening to soothing classical music would help my concentration and allow my brain to save more of the information I was putting into it. I tried listening to Beethoven a few times on my computer speakers while reading, or putting on Chopin while writing a paper only to find myself more distracted by residents running down the hall, the television being turned on or by my own procrastinating thoughts. Even though trying to listen to classical music while working on homework didn’t work for my concentration level, I listened to it when I had a particularly rough time falling asleep and it calmed my thoughts enough to lull me into the dark. New studies have shown that Mozart can help more than just stressed out or tired college students, it might just help lower your blood pressure.

Studies of 41 randomly chosen seniors from retirement communities showed that listening to music such as Mozart or relaxation tapes three or more times a week showed lower blood pressure in the residents that took part. The College of Nursing at Seattle University in Washington conducted the study which took four months with the participants listening three times a week to a twelve-minute tape of ocean sounds alongside a soothing voice or a sonata from Mozart.

Blood pressure readings were taken before the controlled study, one month into their listening practice, and at three months when the study was ending. Overall, each group listening to either the relaxation tapes or to Mozart both dropped significantly. At the beginning of the study, the relaxation-tape group had an average blood pressure reading of 141/73 mm/Hg and the Mozart group had an average of 141/71 mm/Hg. After three months, the relaxation-tape group’s average was 132/70 mm/Hg and the Mozart group’s average blood pressure was 134/69 mm/Hg. The systolic blood pressure average (the top, higher number) was lowered enough to create change while the diagnostic blood pressure (the bottom, lower number) wasn’t effected significantly to promote change.

The lead author of the study, Jean Tang, assistant professor at Seattle University says, “This is a simple program that's very easy to do, and blood pressure did decrease," but, she adds, "It won't replace medicine. It can only reduce blood pressure to a certain point—it's like making lifestyle changes."

Researchers weren’t able to tell if it made any difference in the health of the volunteers. Once the study was over, the blood pressure of the volunteers was only sustained at a lower average in those who continued to listen three or more times a week and not in those participants who stopped listening altogether.

The American Heart Association www.americanheart.org was expected to hear Tang’s full presentation of her findings at the September 17 fall Council for High Blood Pressure Research in Atlanta this year.

Of course if you don’t want to download Mozart’s greatest hits or can’t find a tape player for a repetitive tape, living by the beach could probably provide the same stimulating calm as a relaxation tape and walking around a grocery store could give you at least 12 minutes of Mozart-esque sounds only with the occaisional “Cleanup on aisle three” interruption, but researchers and doctors alike both stress that these options to lowering your blood pressure are not replacements for blood pressure medications or alternate doctor-approved healthy heart programs and should only be used in conjunction to a healthy diet and exercise regimen.

It turns out any age can benefit from classical music appreciation. From the phenomenon of Baby Mozart helping to develop young minds to Mozart on the record player at the senior center keeping older minds stimulated and staying healthy. I know I would choose Wolfgang’s strings and keys over high blood pressure any day.