How To Lower Blood Pressure With Music
- Dmitri Konash
- Jul 18
- 2 min read
Beethoven Drops the Beat—and Your Blood Pressure
🎻 Feeling stressed with blood pressure sky high? Skip the wine—try Moonlight Sonata instead 🧠💓
A new study by Darki et al. (2022) [1] proves what your musically gifted friend has been claiming for years: classical music can literally change your heartbeat—and your mood.
Researchers played Beethoven to 100 brave volunteers and tracked what happened to their hearts, blood pressure, and overall vibe. Here's what they found:
🎵 Tempo Matters: Your Heart Listens Closely
Fast music (Beethoven's Symphony of Fate) cranked up heart rates and blood pressure like a caffeine shot—HR jumped from 75.7 to 83 BPM!
Slow music (Moonlight Sonata) had the opposite effect: a calming lullaby for your cardiovascular system, dropping HR to 72.6 BPM and helping BP take a breather.
So yes, your heart actually dances to the rhythm.
🧘♀️ Mood: Lifted or Chilled—Take Your Pick
Fast music? “Uplifting,” said 83% of participants.
Slow music? “Calming,” said 56%, with the other 44% presumably asleep (in a good way).
98–99% of participants said classical music helped them manage stress. That’s almost everyone, and we know how rare that is.
🧠 Science-y Stuff Behind the Scenes
The vagus nerve—that handy stress-soother by your ear—loves a good melody.
Your brain syncs with music tempos, nudging your heart and blood pressure to follow the beat.
Feel-good chemical dopamine gets released, especially when you hear music that moves you.
Basically, your body treats good music like a hug. From the inside.
👨⚕️ Who Benefits Most?
Everyone, regardless of gender.
Musicians saw even greater BP drops—possibly due to nostalgia, muscle memory, or just knowing where the bassline is.
People under 25 had lower BP to begin with (ah, youth), but everyone showed positive changes.
🎧 Prescribe Yourself Some Beethoven
Next time anxiety shows up uninvited, you’ve got options:
Want a boost? Blast the Symphony of Fate.
Need to chill? Drift into the Moonlight Sonata.
Or try AI tunes in the blood pressure app BreathNow created specifically to lower blood pressure and heart rate.
