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- Asian Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (2015) Volume 5, Issue 45
Effect of music on the stress and anxiety scores of students attending medical college
Introduction: Music has been associated with miraculous powers since the ancient times. Many studies have shown the beneficial effects of music on alleviating certain ailments. Psychological stress is a risk factor for many disorders. Medical students are prone to developing stress due to the exhaustive schedules and the competitive zeal. The present study was conducted to evaluate the soothing effects of music if any on medical students. Methods: The study group comprised of sixty apparently healthy medical students who were enrolled after written informed consent. The study group was then randomised into two sub groups in which one group was exposed to music while the other was made to refrain from any kind of music. The stress levels were evaluated by validated questionnaires anxiety and psychological state of well-being and serum cortisol levels. Results: A significant improvement of anxiety and psychological state of well-being was observed in the group exposed to music as compared to the controls. The serum cortisol levels were also lower in the subgroup exposed to music. Conclusion: The relaxing properties of music as demonstrated in our study can be utilized for dealing with the stress that is highly prevalent in the medical fraternity. Introduction of a few sessions of music can be a simple, non-invasive, costeffective intervention for dealing with stress.
Author(s): Shailendra Kumar Gautam, Binita Goswami, Anju Jain, Sunita Mondol, Asha Gandhi