This study examined the stress-reducing effect on the endocrine system and\nthe autonomic nervous system of music with a frequency of 528 Hz, which\nhas recently attracted attention as a â??healingâ? type of music. Nine healthy\nparticipants (one man and eight women, aged 26 - 37 years) listened to 528\nHz and standard 440 Hz music on separate days. We measured salivary biomarkers\nof stress (cortisol, chromogranin A, and oxytocin) before and after\nexposure to music, and continuously recorded the activity of the autonomic\nnervous system. The Profile of Mood State, 2nd edition, was also administered\nas a subjective indicator of stress. In the 528 Hz condition, mean levels of cortisol\nsignificantly decreased, chromogranin A tended to decrease, and oxytocin\nsignificantly increased after music exposure. However, no significant\nchange was observed in any salivary biomarkers in the 440 Hz condition. The\nratio of low frequency to high frequency autonomic nervous system activity\nsignificantly decreased after exposure to both types of music, and the coefficient\nof variation of R-R intervals also significantly decreased, but only after\nexposure to 528 Hz music. Tension-anxiety and Total Mood Disturbance\nscores were significantly reduced after exposure to 528 Hz music, while there\nwas no significant difference following 440 Hz music. These results suggest\nthat the influence of music on the autonomic nervous system and endocrine\nsystem varies depending on the frequency of the music, and furthermore, that\n528 Hz music has an especially strong stress-reducing effect, even following\nonly five minutes of exposure.
Loading....