A new study by researchers at the University of Heidelberg (Germany) published in the journal Aertzteblatt examined the benefits of music therapy on the well-being of patients hospitalized in palliative care units. For this study, the researchers followed 84 patients hospitalized in palliative care units and divided them into two groups: the first received music therapy and the second was offered relaxation exercises using a monochord, a musical instrument that produces relaxing sounds.
They discovered that the patients in the music therapy group displayed a higher level of well-being and relaxation than the patients in the other group. Effects that were not just a “feeling” but were measured through the activity of the autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular activity.
But what seemed most astonishing to the researchers was that the patients’ state of fatigue had also improved. They therefore intend to continue their research to see if music therapy, which has already shown its effects in treatment of depression, can also “boost” energy.
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