Occasionally science is used to prove something that we innately already know. Light is bright, cold is cold and hot is hot, all things we’ve understood from nearly birth if we have all of our senses, that science subsequently proved.
While not quite as obvious, we know that music can have an affect on our mood, because we all use it as a mood enhancer. There’s a reason why NHL arenas don’t play Enya during stoppages and baseball relievers don’t run to the mound with the Pure Moods Soundtrack. Dance music makes you want to dance and Metal makes you want to punch the air (or people).
However, did you know that there is a playlist that is so effective in reducing stress that it was scientifically proven to lower cortisol levels during hip replacement surgery with spinal anesthesia compared to the control group listening to ocean noises? Put another way, people were awake while their hips were being replaced listening to the playlist below, and it calmed them down more than the ocean. These may actually surprise you, because these aren't ambient pieces or music we normally associate with calm. While there are no lyrics, the mean BPM is 107, with pieces as fast as 162--there is calm in tempo apparently.
We’re living through a stressful time, so when you’re lamenting that an Omlette is now fancy people food and inevitable nuclear proliferation, or you’re having your hip replaced, we’ve got your back.
Bach - Brandenburg Concerto no. 4 in G major BWV 1049
Dave Brubeck - Take Five
O'Stravaganza - Jig Della Inquietudine
Illapu - Las Obreras
Paganini - Concerto No.1 Op 6, 3
Jonathan Richman - Egyptian Reggae
Fritz Kreisler - Liebesfreud
Unknown (Folk) - Entree–Courante
Louis Armstrong - Indiana
J.S. Bach - Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066, 6
Unknown (Folk) - Irish Jig
Shantel - Bucovina
Max Bruch - Violin concerto No. 1, Op. 26
Keep calm and carry on (gritting teeth).
