European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Background: Examining music therapy's influence on heart rate variability (HRV), measured by RMSSD, to elucidate its potential therapeutic effects. Objectives: This study explores the impact of music therapy on heart rate variability (HRV), specifically examining RMSSD as an indicator of autonomic nervous system activity. Methods: Initially, participants exhibited an average RMSSD of 49.80 milliseconds, serving as a baseline. Therapeutic interventions involved distinct musical genres, each with varying durations of exposure. Results: Exposure to calming music for an average of 30 minutes induced a significant increase in RMSSD, averaging 54.78 milliseconds (T-value = -3.13, P-value = 0.0020), suggesting its potential to enhance parasympathetic activity and promote relaxation.Conversely, stimulating music led to a modest decrease in RMSSD to 47.31 milliseconds after 20 minutes, although statistical insignificance (T-value = 1.69, P-value = 0.0934) highlighted individualized responses. Some participants, particularly those favoring stimulating music, reported improved mood, emphasizing the intricate interplay of emotional and physiological responses.Neutral music maintained an RMSSD akin to the baseline after 25 minutes, affirming its non-intrusive impact on HRV.Intriguingly, the control group, undergoing relaxation exercises without musical intervention, exhibited near-unchanged RMSSD at 49.73 milliseconds (T-value = 0.042, P-value = 0.9662), raising questions about the comparative efficacy of music therapy versus other techniques. Conclusion: This study reveals the multifaceted effects of music on HRV, with calming music enhancing parasympathetic activity, while responses to stimulating music vary. The contrast with neutral music underscores music's differential impact. The inclusion of a control group highlights potential avenues for therapeutic innovation and warrants further exploration. These findings have implications for tailoring music therapy interventions to individual preferences and optimizing their effectiveness.