Juleartikel: Julemusik er måske hemmeligheden bag julefreden…

INTRODUCTION. Christmas, which is just around the corner, is associated with stress in Danish homes. Therefore, it is important to find interventions that reduce stress levels. Classical music is known to have a soothing effect as it reduces systolic blood pressure and increases quality of life. However, whether or not Christmas music can bring about the same effect is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether or not Christmas music has a calming effect.

METHODS.The design was a classical intervention study, in which participants were subjected to Christmas music. Blood pressure was measured prior to, and after, the intervention, and a questionnaire was completed regarding demographical questions and questions about one’s attitude to Christmas and Christmas spirit. We used a paired t-test to test the primary outcome and a p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS. Ten participants took part in the study, of whom 8 were female (and 1 unknown). The systolic blood pressure fell by 3.5 mmHg (p = 0.12) and the Christmas mood which was on an average of 5 at the beginning of the study rose by 0.8 point following the intervention.

CONCLUSION. In this study, we displayed that Christmas music has the potential to reduce blood pressure and increase the Christmas spirit. Therefore, we recommend that one plays Christmas music throughout the month of December to reduce stress levels and bring us whole skinned and in high spirits through the Christmas season.