Music and Cardiovascular Health (broadcast Friday, November 14th, 2008)

Can your music playlist affect your cardiovascular health? In a presentation this week at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association, researchers reported on a small study in which they found that listening to music that brought the listener feelings of joy was enough to dilate blood vessels, increasing blood flow. Listening to music that people found stressful had the opposite effect, causing blood vessels to constrict. Previous work by the team looked at the effects of laughter on vascular health. In this segment, we'll talk about how the brain and body are linked, and just how your choice of listening material might affect the size of your blood vessels. Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.