(New Scientist) – People who listen to music after having surgery report lower levels of pain and require less morphine than those who don’t

Listening to music after surgery seems to ease a patient’s pain and anxiety, which could be a cheap and easy way to reduce painkiller use.

“A lot of people, when they are awakening from anaesthesia, are lost,” says Eldo Frezza at California Northstate University College of Medicine. “They have anxiety or maybe they feel pain of the surgery.” Research has repeatedly shown that music can be calming, which prompted Frezza and his colleagues to investigate if it may help after an operation. (Read More)