Can Spa Music Lower Blood Pressure (According To Science)?
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a risk factor for a variety of serious medical problems, like coronary heart or cerebrovascular disease.
The spa music can help us relax and feel less stressed. But can spa music actually have a healing effect like lowering high blood pressure?
Keep reading to see what the science says.
High blood pressure is a silent killer
According to the World Health Organization, the hypertension remains the leading cause of death in the world.
The biggest issue, however, is that an individual may suffer from hypertension and not show any obvious symptoms. Many people suffer from high blood pressure without ever knowing it.
That’s why the doctors worldwide often refer to hypertension as “silent killer”.
According to medical research, untreated hypertension can adversely affect learning, memory, attention, abstract reasoning, and a variety of other cognitive functions.
Hypertension affects approximately 65 million people in the United States alone, so there is a good chance most people will suffer from high blood pressure at some point in their life.
Now, you may be asking yourself: how exactly do I avoid high blood pressure?
The answer to that question begins with understanding the common causes of hypertension.
What causes high blood pressure
The doctors agree that, more often than not, hypertension can be related to your lifestyle.
Unless you have a genetic condition, first of all, look at your diet and exercise. These are the key predictors for the development of high blood pressure.
For example, according to Statistics Canada, engaging in less than 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week is one of the main factors for developing hypertension.
Aside from diet and exercise, stress is the main factor behind high blood pressure.
According to a study available in the National Center of Biotechnology, stress has the strongest predictive relationship with high blood pressure.
So your high blood pressure can result from a long time social conflict, job stress and unemployment, low status, and overall quality of life.
How to avoid high blood pressure
If you otherwise are in good health, the solution can be fairly straightforward.
Hypertension is commonly treated with medications, like diuretics or beta-adrenergic blockers.
If you prefer to lower your blood pressure naturally, it is commonly recommended to decrease your sodium and alcohol consumption, exercise regularly, and lose weight if need be.
Please note that while healthy diet and lifestyle can indeed help to lower your blood pressure over time, it is not guaranteed and depend on many other medical conditions, like chronic diseases or your age. Make sure to see your doctor to get qualified advice related to your specific situation.
However, for most people reducing the level of stress in their life can be the easiest option to fight hypertension.
Less stress – less hypertension!
When we are are stressed, our sympathetic nervous system produces a “fight or flight” response.
That’s perfectly OK every now and then but when our nervous system is under constant stress, hypertension follows.
So the idea is simple, if you want to reduce your blood pressure, reduce the level of stress in your life.
How can you do that?
A variety cognitive behavior methods have been successfully linked to reducing stress, and many of these revolve around relaxation.
These methods include biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation, hypnosis, and meditation.
All of these methods help to reduce blood pressure by down-regulating sympathetic nervous system activity.
However, the above methods either require visiting a specialized facility, or having (for example, for meditation) ample experience.
An easy method to calm your nervous system and reduce stress
Very much like the methods described above, music therapy seeks to reduce stress levels by calming the listeners down and moving them out of the “fight or flight” state.
According to the research paper published at Research Gate, relaxing music, such as spa or classical music, can reduce a variety of stress markers, like heart rate, blood pressure, and circulating levels of stress hormones.
Related: Why Spa Music Feels So Relaxing, According to Science
Listening to relaxing music can reduce stress and lower blood pressure, but how often (or for how long) you must listen to relaxing spa music in order to reap the long-term benefits?
A recent study by the American Institute Of Stress on the use of music therapy with patients suffering from substance use disorder (SUD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found that weekly 1 hour sessions began to show effects at around the 5 week mark.
Hence, it is reasonable to assume that a similar amount of consistency would be required to see noticeable, long-term effects in most people.
Listen to spa music for 1 hour a day for at least 5 weeks to see the effect on your wellbeing.
What’s best about using spa music to reduce stress and improve your health?
It’s readily available and do not require any training or set-up. Well, except putting the headphones on the hitting the “Play” button.
Related: Reduce Stress Through Meditation, Yoga, And Other Relaxation Techniques
Spa music isn’t a magic remedy. See your doctor to make sure you get the proper medical help if needed.
Can Spa Music Lower Blood Pressure?
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension will have detrimental effect on your mind and body.
While high blood pressure can be controlled through the medication, proper diet, and exercise, it also can be prevented by reducing chronic stress.
In order to reduce stress, consider practicing mindfulness and relaxation techniques, such as meditation or simply taking a break and listening to relaxing spa music.
Spa music can help to lower blood pressure over time, as long as you listen consistently and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Relax and live better!
You can find a wide selection of spa music available for download in our relaxing music and sounds download shop.
Do you need to play spa music in your place of business?
Health centers and clinics can benefit from playing relaxing spa music to their clients who suffer from anxiety, stress, or health conditions.
Stream unlimited spa music with full commercial license (no additional licensing required).
Related: How To Legally Stream Spa Music For Business Purposes
Do you have any questions?
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