Researchers have unveiled music’s potential role in enhancing recovery after surgery, which could redefine post-operative care for millions of people.

The team from California Northstate University College of Medicine meticulously combed through 3,736 studies to distill their insights from 35 pivotal research papers. Their findings, released at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2024 at San Francisco, suggest that incorporating music into post-surgery care routines yields significant benefits.

Key findings include:

Pain Reduction: Patients who enjoyed music reported notably less pain, with a reduction of 19 percent on one measurement scale and 7 percent on another.

Anxiety Reduction: Music listeners experienced a 3 percent decrease in post-operative anxiety levels, a small yet meaningful concession in the stressful recovery period.

Reduced Morphine Use: A remarkable outcome was the reduction of opioid dependency. Patients using music required less than half the morphine compared to those who did not, addressing pressing concerns about opioid use in healthcare.

Heart Rate Stability: The study noted an average decrease of 4.5 beats per minute in heart rates among music listeners, promoting better oxygen and nutrient flow crucial for recovery while mitigating risks like abnormal heart rhythms.

“When patients wake up after surgery, sometimes they feel really scared and don’t know where they are. Music can help ease the transition from the waking up stage to a return to normalcy and may help reduce stress around that transition,” Eldo Frezza, a professor of surgery and senior author of the study, said in a press release.