We all know that listening to music can soothe emotional pain, but Taylor Swift, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys can also ease physical pain, according to a study of children and teenagers who had major surgery.
The analgesic effects of music are well known, but most of the studieshave been done with adults and most of the music has been classical. Now a recent study finds that children who choose their own music or audiobook to listen to after major surgery experience less pain.
The catalyst for the research was a very personal experience. Sunitha Suresh was a college student when her grandmother had major surgery and was put in intensive care with three other patients. This meant her family couldn't always be with her. So they decided to put her favorite south Indian classical Carnatic music on an iPod, so she could listen around the clock.
It was very calming, Sunitha says. "She knew that someone who loved her had left that music for her and she was in a familiar place."
[For more of this story, written by Patti Neighmond, go to http://www.npr.org/sections/he...ad-of-popping-a-pill]
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