Photographs and music lessen patients' anxiety before surgery

A new study found that viewing photographs combined with listening to music can less patients' anxiety before surgical operations and improve their physical and psychological well-being.

Listening to music while viewing photographs led to benefits related to anxiety, heart and respiratory rate, and blood pressure, compared with only viewing photographs.

The findings suggest a simple way to improve care at a low cost and without medications or invasive treatments, perhaps by playing videos with photos and music on televisions in preoperative waiting rooms.

"Creating different kinds of music lists and photographs collections, which the patient can choose depending on his preferences, could be an affordable and low risk treatment for preoperative anxiety," said Jose Gomez-Urquiza, lead author of the Journal of Advanced Nursing study.