Improved heart rate variability (HRV)
1
Yurkovich, J., Burns, D., & Harrison, T. (2018). The Effect of Music Therapy Entrainment on Physiologic Measures of Infants in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit: Single Case Withdrawal Pilot Study. Journal of Music Therapy, 55, 62–82.
Music therapy entrainment may improve physiologic stability in infants with congenital heart disease by decreasing average heart and respiratory rates and improving heart rate variability.
2
Standley, J. (2002). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of music therapy for premature infants.. Journal of pediatric nursing, 17 2, 107-13
Meta-analysis indicates statistically significant and clinically important benefits for premature infants in the NICU, including improved HRV.
3
Caparros-Gonzalez, R., Torre-Luque, A., Díaz-Piedra, C., Vico, F., & Buela-Casal, G. (2017). Listening to Relaxing Music Improves Physiological Responses in Premature Infants: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Advances in Neonatal Care, 18, 58–69
Relaxing music therapy intervention decreased respiratory rate and increased heart rate in premature infants.
4
Keith, D., Russell, K., & Weaver, B. (2009). The effects of music listening on inconsolable crying in premature infants.. Journal of music therapy, 46 3, 191-203
Music therapy significantly reduces the frequency and duration of inconsolable crying in premature infants, and improves physiological measures like heart rate and respiration rate. Findings suggest the viability of using recorded music in the absence of a music therapist or the maternal voice to console infants when standard nursing interventions are not effective.
5
Varisco, G., Wal, W., Bakker-Bos, J., Kommers, D., Andriessen, P., & Pul, C. (2022). Effect of Music Therapy Interventions on Heart Rate Variability in Premature Infants. 2022 44th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMBC), 678-681
Music therapy interventions can reduce stress in premature infants and promote the development of their autonomic nervous system.
6
Heijden, M., Araghi, S., Jeekel, J., Reiss, I., Hunink, M., & Dijk, M. (2016). Do Hospitalized Premature Infants Benefit from Music Interventions? A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. PLoS ONE, 11
Music interventions can improve sleep, heart rate, and feeding outcomes in premature infants.
7
Desquiotz-Sunnen, N. (2008). [Singing for preterm born infants music therapy in neonatology].. Bulletin de la Societe des sciences medicales du Grand-Duche de Luxembourg, Spec No 1, 131-43
Live singing and a pentatonic harp can reduce stress, increase oxygen saturation, and decrease heart rate in premature infants, improving their physical and psychological health.
8
G. Varisco, W. R. Van Der Wal, J. Bakker-Bos, D. Kommers, P. Andriessen and C. Van Pul, "Effect of Music Therapy Interventions on Heart Rate Variability in Premature Infants," 2022 44th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMBC), Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, 2022, pp. 678-681, doi:
• Percentage of infants that showed an increase in HRV (SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50) during patient handling activities in the 20 minutes before the communicative intervention: Not clearly stated, but the text and Figure 2 indicate it was a large percentage/most infants • Percentage decrease in SDNN from pre-communicative period to during the communicative intervention: Not clearly stated, but Table 1 shows the median SDNN decreased from 17.53 ms to 15.60 ms, which would be a 10.9% decrease • Percentage increase in RMSSD from pre-communicative period to during the communicative intervention: Not clearly stated, but Table 1 shows the median RMSSD increased from 8.63 ms to 9.24 ms, which would be a 7.1% increase • Percentage decrease in pNN50 from pre-communicative period to during the communicative intervention: Not clearly stated, but Table 1 shows the median pNN50 decreased from 0.58% to 0.30%, which would be a 48.3% decrease
