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Updated: Apr 22, 2026
Assessing the Effects of Music Listening on Psychobiological Stress in Daily Life
Published on: February 2, 2017
Effects of music on cardiovascular responses in men with essential hypertension compared with healthy men based on
Hossein Namdar1, Mohammadreza Taban Sadeghi1, Hassan Sabourimoghaddam2
1Cardiovascular Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Insights
Slow-beat music significantly reduced blood pressure and heart rate in extraverted hypertensive men compared to introverted men. Fast-beat music showed no significant cardiovascular differences between personality types.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Psychophysiology
- Behavioral Medicine
Background:
- Essential hypertension affects cardiovascular responses.
- Introversion and extraversion may influence physiological reactions to stimuli.
- Music's impact on cardiovascular health is an area of interest.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differential effects of slow-beat and fast-beat music on cardiovascular responses.
- To compare these effects between essential hypertensive men and healthy men.
- To examine the role of introversion and extraversion in these responses.
Main Methods:
- 113 hypertensive and healthy men were categorized into introvert and extravert groups.
- Baseline cardiovascular parameters (blood pressure, heart rate) were recorded.
- Subjects were exposed to slow-beat and fast-beat music, with cardiovascular responses measured after each stimulus.
Main Results:
- Extraverted hypertensive patients showed greater reductions in systolic blood pressure and heart rate with slow-beat music compared to introverted patients.
- Extraverted healthy subjects exhibited a greater reduction in heart rate with slow-beat music than introverted healthy subjects.
- No significant differences in blood pressure or heart rate were observed between introvert and extravert groups after exposure to fast-beat music.
Conclusions:
- Introverts may experience negative emotions more intensely, leading to less pronounced cardiovascular changes.
- Slow-beat music demonstrates a potential therapeutic effect on cardiovascular responses, particularly in extraverted individuals.
- Personality traits, specifically introversion/extraversion, modulate cardiovascular reactivity to music in hypertensive and healthy men.
Introduction:
The present research investigated the effects of two different types of music on cardiovascular responses in essential hypertensive men in comparison with healthy men based on introversion and extraversion.
Methods:
One hundred and thirteen hypertensive men referred to Madani Heart Hospital in Tabriz completed the NEO-FFI Questionnaire and after obtaining acceptable scores were classified in four groups: introvert patients, extravert patients, introvert healthy subjects, and extravert healthy subjects (each group with 25 samples with age range 31-50). Baseline blood pressure and heart rate of each subject was recorded without any stimulus. Then subjects were exposed to slow-beat music and blood pressure and heart rate were recorded. After15 minute break, and a little cognitive task for distraction, subjects were exposed to fast-beat music and blood pressure and heart rate were recorded again.
Results:
Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) test showed that extravert patient subjects obtained greater reduction in systolic blood pressure and heart rate after presenting slow-beat music compared with introvert patients (P= 0.035, and P= 0.033 respectively). And extravert healthy subjects obtained greater reduction in heart rate after presenting slow-beat music compared with introvert healthy subjects (P= 0.036). However, there are no significant differences between introvert and extravert groups in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate after presenting fast-beat music.
Conclusion:
Based on our results, introvert subjects experience negative emotions more than extravert subjects and negative emotions cause less change in blood pressure in these subjects compared with extravert subjects.
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