The Power of Music: How Pleasurable Tunes Alleviate Pain

A study published in Frontiers in Pain Research found that emotional responses to relaxing and favorite music can predict hypoalgesia, or pain relief. The study involved 63 healthy individuals who listened to their favorite songs and relaxing music while experiencing painful thermal stimuli. The researchers found that favorite music significantly reduced pain intensity and unpleasantness compared to scrambled music and silence, while relaxing music had a lesser effect. The occurrence of chills during music listening was a significant mediator of pain relief. Moving/bittersweet music was found to have a superior effect in decreasing pain. Further research is needed to confirm these findings.