A study at the University of Maryland revealed that blood vessels dilate to joyful music. The study, directed by the director of preventive cardiology, Michael Miller MD examined 10 participants who were tested with ultrasound while listening to music.
The volunteers' blood vessels by dilated 26% while they listened to music that made them feel joy. The dilation led to an immediate increase in blood flow similar to what would be expected during aerobic exercises.Interestingly, when the volunteers listened to comedy sketches and laughed, their blood vessels also dilated, but by 19%. When they listened to some heavy music that made them feel unhappy or tense, their blood vessels constricted by 6%.Most of the participants in the study experienced country music to be the most joyful and heavy metal music to be the most stressful.Michael Miller, who was very pleased with the results, said "These results were music to my ears because they signal another preventive strategy that we may incorporate in our daily lives to promote heart health." The results of this study also reflect the results gained from a separate study in which participants were requested to watch scenes of the comic movie Kingpin.The results of the study are being presented at the American Heart Association's annual conference in New Orleans. The study was financed by the National Institutes of health, the Veterans Administration and the American Heart Association.