Media coverage of research published in Frontiers.

When people sing in a choir their heart beats are synchronised, so that the pulse of choir members tends to increase and decrease in unison. This has been shown by a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg that examined the health effects for choir members.

Researchers at the Academy are studying how music, in purely biological terms, affects our body and our health. The object is to find new forms where music may be used for medical purposes, primarily within rehabilitation and preventive care.In the latest study titled “Music determines heart rate variability of singers” published in theFrontiers in Psychology, the research group is able to show how the musical structure influences the heart rate of choir members.

The study received widespread media coverage from BBC, CNN, New Scientist, Scientific American (and there is a podcast here), TIME magazine, CBC, **The Times, Der Spiegel**and many more. A video of the researchers performing their research live is available below.

The paper is available to read here (open-access, of course!).