Choosing the right music can actually help your blood vessels expand, increasing blood flow and improving your health, researchers from the University of Maryland said.
In the study, people were asked to choose music that brings them joy. When they listened to music they thought was stressful, their blood vessels narrowed.
Researchers asked seven men and three women with an average age of 36 years to take part in the survey. Along with the music they selected, they also listened to relaxation tapes and watched videos meant to be funny. Tests were done several times over six to eight months.
A previous study, also by Dr. Michael Miller, found that laughter increased blood flow.
In this test, the diameter of people's blood vessels increased an average of 26 percent when listening to joyful music and constricted 6 percent for the music that made them anxious.
Laughter caused a 19 percent increase in dilation. Relaxation opened things up 11 percent, but researchers said that was not a statistically significant result.
Most of the people selected country music to evoke joy, Miller said.
"You can't read into this too much, although you could argue that country music is light, spirited, a lot of love songs," he said.
But others could get the same effect from different music, he suspects.
"We don't understand why somebody may be drawn to certain classical music, for example. There are no words in that, and yet the rhythm, the melody and harmony, may all play a role in the emotional and cardiovascular response," he said.
The results of the study were to be presented at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
