Classical Music Keeps Preemies Healthy
Reported January 08, 2010
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — A Mozart sonata a day may be just what the doctor ordered for preemies struggling to stay healthy.
A new study at Tel Aviv University found premature babies who listen to music by the 18-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart may gain weight faster than those who don’t.
“It’s not exactly clear how the music is affecting them, but it makes them calmer and less likely to be agitated,” study co-author Dr. Dror Mandel, of Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine, was quoted as saying.
Researchers measured the physiological effects of music by Mozart played to pre-term newborns for 30 minutes, once per day. They found after hearing the music, the newborns expended less energy, and therefore needed fewer calories to grow rapidly.
“The repetitive melodies in Mozart’s music may be affecting the organizational centers of the brain’s cortex,” Dr. Mandel said. “Unlike Beethoven, Bach or Bartok, Mozart’s music is composed with a melody that is highly repetitive. This might be the musical explanation. For the scientific one, more investigation is needed.”
The study is the first to quantify the effect of music on newly born children.
Source: American Friends of Tel Aviv University, January 2010