How the Right Music Can Relieve Pain

Why does some music appear to have an analgesic effect? The researchers did not try to answer the question definitively, but their findings did raise some possibilities. Listening to music, they write in the study, may trigger the release of endorphins, chemical messengers that bind to opioid receptors to reduce or eliminate pain. Music may also calm the body down, with a resulting reduction of blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety, and stress—all of which may reduce pain. Being distracted by music may also engage the brain’s limbic system and prefrontal networks, activating pain mediation networks. Those neural regions are known to have a somewhat delayed effect, which could explain why people experienced relief two minutes after the needle. It’s possible, too, the researchers concede, that the music wasn’t what was responsible for reduced pain, but rather the presence of a friendly, distracting experimenter in the room.