Does Music Affect Heart Rate?

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Does Music Affect Heart Rate?

• By Grace Brancale

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Question

• Do different types of music affect heart rate?

Hypothesis
Yes, different types of music will affect heart
rate. Slow classical music and slower hip hop
will decrease the heart rate, rock and screamo
music will increase heart rate. I predict that
the faster the tempo, the greater the increase in
heart rate.
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Introduction

• Heart rate is regulated by the medulla oblongata
• The brain responds to rhythm and when we listen
  to music, the brain catches the rhythm and this
  is why it affects heart rate It becomes
  subconscious, like a neurological pulse, and this
  affects the medulla oblongata which controls
  heart rate
• The heart doesnt beat at the same tempo as the
  music, but it slows down or speeds up in order to
  become closer to it
• Heart rate can be influenced by different outside
  sources, such as exercise, temperature, emotions
  or music
• Many studies have been done to examine this topic

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Introduction

• A study by Bernardi and some colleagues was done
  concerning how music affects different parts of
  the body and body functions. They concluded that
  music does have an effect on heart rate as well
  as respiratory rate and other body functions.
  They discovered that slower tempi decrease heart
  rate and faster tempi increase heart rate.
• In the University of California, School of
  Nursing, a study was done on patients about to
  undergo vascular angiography. The results of this
  study were that the group of patients who
  listened to music for fifteen minutes while they
  were waiting had a slower heart rate than those
  who were in silence.
• A study was done in 1918 by I. H. Hyde and W.
  Scalapino that showed similar results. Even with
  the technology of those days, an ECG could still
  show that different tempi of music have different
  affects on the heart.

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Method

• Ask test subject to take their normal heart rate.
  (Use students from period B Adv. Bio class, and
  others)
• Play 3 minutes of slow classical music (Reverie
  by Debussy) then ask for the test subject to
  record their pulse again.
• Repeat step 2 three times, the first time playing
  heavy metal screamo (10 Signs you should leave by
  Emmure), the second time playing slow hip hop (10
  Seconds by Jazmine Sullivan), and the third time
  playing rock (American Idiot by Green Day).
• Analyze data and graph the changes in heart rate.

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Method

• Resting heart rate________bpm
• Heart rate after Debussy _________bpm
• Heart rate after Emmure _________bpm
• Heart rate after Jazmine Sullivan ____bpm
• Heart rate after Green Day ________bpm

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Data
  Resting heart rate Debussy bpm Emmure bpm 10 Seconds bpm Green Day bpm Comments
Subject 1 90 90 98 88 88 stress/anxiety, laughter
Subject 2 68 70 78 68 76 dancing, athlete
Subject 3 66 56 66 60 66 dancer
Subject 4 102 88 92 80 90 none
Subject 5 68 68 68 68 76 none
Subject 6 74 72 70 70 66 comfortable sitting
Subject 7 76 78 70 82 90 allergies
Subject 8 88 66 86 92 54 favorite music style
Subject 9 84 74 74 66 60 hunger, boyfriend's music
Subject 10 72 72 74 72 78 children interrupting
Subject 11 70 66 74 68 74 knowledge of songs/experiment
Subject 12 96 94 94 94 104 liked Green Day
Averages 79.5 74.5 78.6666667 75.66666667 76.83333333  
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Data
1. Resting bpm
3. Emmure bpm
5. Green Day bpm
4. Jazmine Sullivan bpm
2. Debussy bpm
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Data Analysis

• My hypothesis was somewhat correct, but not
  completely. Based on the data, music does affect
  heart rate, and the tempo of the music was also a
  factor in how much the heart rate was affected.
  However, the average heart rate from the faster
  music did not exceed the average resting heart
  rate.
• Half of the hypothesis was correct music with
  slower tempi decreased heart rate. The other half
  of the hypothesis, that music with faster tempi
  increases heart rate was proven incorrect.
  However, the experiment still proved that the
  tempo was a factor to how much the heart rate
  decreased.
• With Debussy and Jazmine Sullivan, the slow
  classical and slow hip hop music, the heart rate
  decreased much more than with Emmure and Green
  Day, the fast screamo and rock music.
• Every subject was different. The heart rate of
  some reacted better to some music than others. In
  some individuals, the faster music increased
  their heart rate, but overall this was not a
  trend. They all did what was required, but each
  person reacted differently. The overall trend was
  a decrease in heart rate during slower music and
  a relative increase after the faster music
  although not exceeding the resting heart rate.

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Conclusion

• Based on the experiment I conducted, music does
  affect heart rate, but my hypothesis was not
  really correct. Slower music proved to decrease
  heart rate, but faster music did not create an
  increase in heart rate as I had predicted. The
  experiment proved that all music decreased heart
  rate, although not as much with the faster music.
  In some individuals, the faster music did
  increase heart rate, but overall, this is not a
  trend. My experiment still supports the other
  experiments that I cited in my introduction that
  showed how music decreases heart rate.

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Conclusion

• If I were to do this study over again, I would
  have made some activity such as a simple puzzle
  or other activity for the subjects to do while
  doing the experiment in order to eliminate
  possible variables such as distractions or
  dancing to the music, and just let the music
  affect their brains and subconscious. I would
  also take their heart rates while they were
  listening to the music so as to avoid other
  possible variables.

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Bibliography

• Bernardi, Luciano, C. Porta, and P. Sleight.
  "Cardiovascular, Cerebrovascular, and
  Respiratory Changes Induced by Different Types
  of Music in Musicians and Non-musicians the
  Importance of Silence." Heart - BMJ Journals. 30
  Sept. 2005. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. lthttp//heart.bmj.
  com/content/92/4/445.full?maxtoshowHITS10hi ts
  10RESULTFORMATandorexacttitleandtitleabstrac
  tmusic andorexacttitleabsorfulltextmusicand
  heartrateandorexactfullt extandsearchid1FIRS
  TINDEX0resourcetypeHWCITgt.
• Danna, Theresa. "How Music Affects Heart Rate."
  EHow. 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.
  lthttp//www.ehow.com/facts_5580461_music-affects-
  heart-rate.htmlgt.
• Hyde, I. H., and W. Scalapino. "The Influence of
  Music Upon Electrocardiograms and Blood
  Pressure." American Journal of Physiology --
  Legacy Content 46.1 (1918) 35-38. American
  Journal of Physiology -- Legacy Content.
  American Physiological Society. Web. 28 Feb.
  2011. lthttp//ajplegacy.physiology.org/content/46/
  1/35.full.pdf html?ijkey25d7292d80086523fc8491b0
  efd846d9d8ed46f4keytype2 tf_ipsecshagt.