Listening to music that you love (ie, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy for folks on this site!) is good for the heart!

This weekend, newspapers around the country were referencing a study of patients with heart problems that showed the following, per MSN news:

It’s not your imagination when music makes you feel better.

A study of 74 heart disease patients seems to indicate that listening to music for at least 30 minutes per day can strengthen the heart and improve recovery. No need to suffer through Beethoven or Celine Dion if that’s not your thing, since all that matters is that the music makes the listener happy. That said, music that increases stress — say, hard-core rap or heavy metal — probably isn’t going to do as much good as opera, classical and other types of uplifting music, which is more likely to stimulate endorphins. Even healthy people can reap the coronary benefits from music, though, and as with heart disease sufferers, adding regular exercise to the mix is going to be a huge boost.

And from the  London Telegraph:

The findings, presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual congress in Amsterdam, suggested that the release of key hormones while listening to music was behind the changes.

Prof Delijanin Ilic, the lead investigator, from the Institute of Cardiology, University of Nis, Serbia, said: “When we listen to music we like then endorphins are released from the brain and this improves our vascular health. There is no ‘best music’ for everyone – what matters is what the person likes and makes them happy.”

She said other studies examining the impact of music suggested there might be some types of music which were less good for the heart – with heavy metal more likely to raise stress levels, while opera, classical and other types of ‘joyful’ music were more likely to stimulate endorphins.

See? We always knew that our enjoyment of Jeanette and Nelson is good for us, has uplifted us and made us feel better. I can’t tell you how many emails and letters I’ve received over the years from people who experienced personal tragedy, illness or loss and found their way back to a normal life again by watching their films or listening to their music.

The study shows that in the best of all possible worlds, one would listen to their favorite music PLUS do some exercise.

So put on your favorite Mac/Eddy film or CD and get to it! And enjoy 🙂