Music's affect on breathing/heart beat/blood pressure

Ever listen to music and everything around you goes away and it seems as if it is just you and the music?  It can be like that sometimes, because music is a powerful tool that has major effects on the body.  One of these effects includes breathing.  When listening to music, a normal reaction is for a person to dance and it has been like that since music was created.  Dancing is almost like a type of exercise due to the fact that it causes the body to move rapidly,  causing a person’s breathing to speed up.  Relaxing or calm music will do the opposite and allow the body’s breathing to slow down.  Therefore, when it comes down to how music effecting  breathing it has a effect, but it really depends on the music you are listening to and the person you are.

                                                                                                    

Blood pressure is another essential factor that music has on the human body.  “Dr. Shirley Thompson, an associated professor of epidemiology at the University of South Carolina School of Public Health, reports that excessive noise may raise blood pressure by as much as 10 percent.”  Now I know some people think that if music is raising the blood pressure, wouldn’t that be bad for the health of the Body?  No! This is because it’s only a minor change of blood pressure and not enough change to affect health.  By playing relaxing music throughout the day people with high blood pressure can train themselves to lower their blood pressure and keep it low.  When listening to music not only will it increase and decrease blood pressure, but it also does the same to heart rate.

Heart rate picks up on frequency and tempo according to pace.  For instance, if the pace is fast then the heart rate will pick up on it and do the same so now your heart rate is also fast.  If relaxing music is playing then your tempo will slow down and the heart rate copies it by slowing down.  By the heart rate slowing down will cause the body to reduce stress and calm the body down.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that the heart rate will go with the beat, but it will definitely change its beats per minute.  Because a heart rate can only go so fast or so slow, it sure wouldn’t kill itself.  Therefore, people should have no worry when they listen to music, this is because a heart rate increasing or decreasing is because it is natural and is going to happen!

http://hs.riverdale.k12.or.us/~dthompso/exhib_03/jasonc/Music's_Affects_on_the_Human_Body.html