Music can help patients who are on ventilators in ICU by making them to breathe effortlessly. Music could be better than drugs in calming patients during forced ventilation, according to experts from the Cochrane Library. In a study that involved more than two hundred ICU patients, showed that listening to music reduced their anxiety and slow down their breathing rates.
In number of experiments doctors recommended for classical music like as Mozart’s piano sonatas, or easy listening. More studies are done to determine the type of music which is vital for the patient. As music can evoke intensive emotions but selection of wrong music can disturb the patients and cause them more stress, cautioned experts.
They suggested that medical staff providing music to patients should consult with a music therapist to know which type of music can be best for a particular patient, explained lead researcher Joke Bradt from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Live as well as prerecorded music worked.
Music was a cheap yet potent device to help doctors. It was not as simple as playing any haphazard track but selecting the right music was crucial. It was significant to get an intellect of what is meaningful to the individual, explained Dr Wendy Magee, international fellow in music therapy from the Institute of Neuropalliative Rehabilitation, London.
Some music will not be soothing and slow heart rate or breathing, particularly if it is very stimulating or exciting, like heavy metal. There were more than six hundred registered music therapists in the UK, of which many work within the NHS, helping patients through the power of music, added Dr Magee.