Music therapy has benefits for the well-being and relaxation of patients in palliative care units.
Music improves the well-being of patients. This observation has been made for decades, especially in palliative care units where music therapy is used to reduce suffering. A new study confirms these observations.
This work only involved 84 people and was not published. Researchers at Heidelberg University targeted 84 people admitted to palliative care and formed two groups. One went to music therapy and the other was limited to a relaxation program.
Participants rated their level of relaxation, acute pain, and general well-being, before and after the sessions. The results show a clear satisfaction of the group having followed the music therapy, in terms of relaxation and well-being in general.
These self-reported results were corroborated by heart rate measurements. In contrast, when it comes to acute pain, academics noted no significant difference between the two groups.
Those who followed the musical sessions, however, showed less fatigue compared to the others.
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