To Ease Menopause Symptoms, Add a Little Melody

They say that music soothes the savage beast, but can it also soothe a miserable, menopausal woman? A recent study suggests yes. From trouble sleeping to aching joints, women can experience a range of symptoms related to the onset of menopause. These can make life unpleasant. A Turkish study, though, has found that “music might be helpful,” says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, who wasn’t involved in the research. She’s the director of the Women’s Health Clinic at the Mayo Clinic and of The North American Menopause Society, which published the study last month in its journal Menopause. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The new research involved postmenopausal women ages 40 to 65, which means the participants hadn’t had their periods for at least 12 months. To start, all participants rated the level of their menopause symptoms, from their irritability to how bad their hot flashes were. They also rated their level of depression: for example, did they feel like failures or cry a lot? Roughly half the women were then asked to listen to music for the next six weeks—at least 18 sessions that were 15 minutes long—in a quiet environment. The other half weren’t given any instructions. After the six weeks, all completed the surveys again. The women who listened to music fared better than those who hadn’t. After their listening sessions, they rated their menopause symptoms significantly lower, and their depression levels dr...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Source Type: news