{"id":83289,"date":"2025-11-28T02:45:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T02:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cred.ai\/news\/?p=83289"},"modified":"2025-11-29T15:33:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T15:33:03","slug":"research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cred.ai\/news\/2025\/11\/28\/research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Shows Music May Measurably Reduce Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers have found that music can meaningfully reduce how people experience pain, according to a recent study published in Scientific Reports<\/i><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0The team reported that listening to music can even lessen patients\u2019 reliance on pain medication across both acute and chronic conditions.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cPain is a really complex experience,\u201d Florida State University psychologist Adam Hanley told the Associated Press<\/span><\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s created by a physical sensation, and by our thoughts about that sensation and emotional reaction to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That mind-body interplay is central to why music seems to help. A separate study published in the journal Pain<\/i><\/span><\/a> found that music can improve people\u2019s ability to cope with discomfort, and sometimes even perceive it as less intense. Another experiment from Erasmus University Rotterdam<\/span><\/a>, involving 548 volunteers exposed to extremely cold temperatures, showed that listening to pop, classical, rock, urban, or electronic music increased participants\u2019 pain tolerance.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe more people listened to a favorite genre, the more they could endure pain,\u201d said Dr. Emy van der Valk Bouman, co-author of the study. \u201cA lot of people thought that classical music would help them more. Actually, we are finding more evidence that what\u2019s best is just the music you like.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Across these studies, a clear pattern emerges: patients benefit most when they choose the music themselves and focus on it intentionally, rather than treating it as background sound.<\/p>\n

Clinicians report similar observations. At UC San Diego Health, nurse Rod Salaysay brings a guitar or ukulele into the recovery unit and plays songs that patients request. As they listen, Salaysay has tracked noticeable physiological shifts<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0Many patients see drops in blood pressure and heart rate, and some report needing fewer painkillers afterward.<\/p>\n

The approach has deep roots. Music\u2019s role in pain management dates back centuries, according to McGill University Newsroom<\/span><\/a>, including cases of patients using it to reduce discomfort during dental procedures before local anesthesia existed in the 19th century. Today\u2019s research is taking that further, using new methods to measure, reinterpret, and extend long-observed links between music and pain perception.<\/p>\n

As the evidence builds, one conclusion stands out: pain relief doesn\u2019t hinge solely on pharmaceuticals. Music may play a meaningful and measurable role in how patients manage pain today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers have found that music can meaningfully reduce how people experience pain, according to a recent study published in Scientific Reports.\u00a0The team reported that listening to music can even lessen patients\u2019 reliance on pain medication across both acute and chronic conditions. \u201cPain is a really complex experience,\u201d Florida State University psychologist Adam Hanley told the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":83290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[204],"tags":[31,114,161,551,1417],"class_list":["post-83289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-music","tag-news","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-medicine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nResearch Shows Music May Measurably Reduce Pain - crednews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cred.ai\/news\/2025\/11\/28\/research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Research Shows Music May Measurably Reduce Pain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers have found that music can meaningfully reduce how people experience pain, according to a recent study published in Scientific Reports.\u00a0The team reported that listening to music can even lessen patients\u2019 reliance on pain medication across both acute and chronic conditions. \u201cPain is a really complex experience,\u201d Florida State University psychologist Adam Hanley told the ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cred.ai\/news\/2025\/11\/28\/research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"crednews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-28T02:45:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-29T15:33:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cred.ai\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/shutterstock_2530616621.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cred.ai staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cred.ai staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cred.ai\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/28\\\/research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cred.ai\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/28\\\/research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cred.ai staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cred.ai\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b8132cf694e343ab4c8bd8a3da99e9c2\"},\"headline\":\"Research Shows Music May Measurably Reduce Pain\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-28T02:45:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-29T15:33:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cred.ai\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/28\\\/research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":376,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cred.ai\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/28\\\/research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cred.ai\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/shutterstock_2530616621.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Music\",\"news\",\"health\",\"healthcare\",\"medicine\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cred.ai\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/28\\\/research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cred.ai\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/28\\\/research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cred.ai\\\/news\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/28\\\/research-shows-music-may-measurably-reduce-pain\\\/\",\"name\":\"Research Shows Music May Measurably Reduce Pain - 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