Music can be a form of therapy for people who are stressed and depressed. While it has already been proven that music can soothe the minds of ordinary people, a new study found out that music can improve the heart conditions of terminally ill patients, too.

Medical Daily reports a new study discovered the benefits of music among patients who were under palliative care. This specialized form of health care serves those who suffer intense pain and other crippling symptoms of chronic diseases such as cancer.

For the study, 84 palliative care patients were divided into two groups. The first group received music therapy while the other, a control group, received verbal relaxation exercises. The patients who underwent music-based relaxation exercises listened to a live, relaxing sound coming from a monochord (a wooden instrument commonly used in scientific laboratories) for two sessions.

According to results, the patients who had music therapy were rated higher levels of relaxation and well-being compared to the control group after both sessions. Further, the researchers also found several physiological impacts of music therapy among palliative care patients.

"This finding is supported by both the significant increase in high-frequency (HF) variations in heart rate and a trend towards greater peripheral blood flow, which suggests increased parasympathetic modulation and reduced sympathetic modulation of cardiovascular activity of the autonomic nervous system," the researchers wrote.

"This study is the first randomized controlled trial to examine objective data for evidence that receptive music therapy has an effect on well-being and relaxation in patients receiving palliative care," they added. "The tested relaxation exercise can be used effectively by music therapy practitioners in their work with seriously and terminally ill patients."

The researchers are planning to conduct further studies to find out whether music therapy could also boost energy.

This study was published in the journal Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.