Author(s) :

Edward W Zhu.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Elevated heart rate is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. Although prior research suggests that music has an impact on heart rate, the differential effect of music has not been well understood. This study assessed the effect of music with varying emotional characteristics on heart rate, and evaluated how arousal (intensity) and valence (pleasantness), the two aspects of emotional characteristics, influenced heart rate. Five participants were recruited to this quasi-experimental study. Each participant’s heart rate was continuously monitored with an Apple Watch while they listened to music representing five distinct emotional characteristics, along with a no-music control condition. . Linear mixed models was used to estimate the effects of each music on heart rate, accounting for the clustering of repeated heart rate measures within each participant. Compared with the control session, stormy and romantic pieces significantly increased heart rate while dreamy and nostalgic pieces significantly decreased heart rate. Further analyses suggested that high arousal was positively associated with and pleasantness was negatively associated with heart rate; no significant interaction between arousal and valence was observed. These findings suggest that specific emotional characteristics of music differentially influence heart rate and may have clinical implications for the use of music in stress reduction, rehabilitation, and exercise settings.