Investigating the Impact of Classical and Preferred Music on Stress Reduction

Stress emerges as a primary modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, significantly affecting low to middle-income countries like the Philippines. Such circumstances high-light the need to explore more accessible, sustainable, and non-invasive interventions. Listening to music has been shown to elicit positive physiological responses, making it a potential avenue for stress reduction towards improving cardiovascular health, however, there is a need to improve and mend previous research gaps. Therefore, this project aims to assess the effectiveness of listening to classical music as a supplemental means of stress relief by observing changes in heart rate variability (HRV)-based physiological parameters. Sixty-two healthy participants were selected and exposed to a stress stimulus through an IQ test, which they took under three conditions: without music, with their preferred music, and with classical music. The HRV parameters, computed from their heart rate through digital signal processing techniques, as well as their perceived stress were analyzed. Further, the correlation between crescendos and RR interval was also investigated. Results show that during crescendos, RR intervals increase, and classical music may have positive results on the HRV parameters; however, there is no sufficient evidence to conclude that it necessarily reduces stress towards improved cardiovascular health.