LULLABIES HAVE BEEN
SHOWN TO EASE PAIN IN BABIES
SHOWN TO EASE PAIN IN BABIES
Hold the front page! It turns out that lullabies ease pain and anxiety
in children. This story was reported yesterday – and as often happens, you
wonder why anyone would think it was news. Isn’t that why lullabies emerged in
the first place, to stop children being afraid of the dark, still their fidgety
bodies and minds, and lull them off to sleep?
in children. This story was reported yesterday – and as often happens, you
wonder why anyone would think it was news. Isn’t that why lullabies emerged in
the first place, to stop children being afraid of the dark, still their fidgety
bodies and minds, and lull them off to sleep?
Still, let’s be fair. This story, as featured on Radio 4’s Todayprogramme, was the outcome of
a proper research project carried out at Great Ormond Street Hospital, which
set out to answer the question of whether it really is listening to live music
that has this soothing effect, or the presence of an attentive adult.
Thirty-seven patients under the age of three were “recruited”, all with heart
or respiratory problems. Each took part in three 10-minute sessions: one in
which they were read to, one in which they were sung lullabies, and one in
which they were left alone. What the researchers discovered was “a significant
decrease in heart rate and pain level” at the end of the session involving
music.
a proper research project carried out at Great Ormond Street Hospital, which
set out to answer the question of whether it really is listening to live music
that has this soothing effect, or the presence of an attentive adult.
Thirty-seven patients under the age of three were “recruited”, all with heart
or respiratory problems. Each took part in three 10-minute sessions: one in
which they were read to, one in which they were sung lullabies, and one in
which they were left alone. What the researchers discovered was “a significant
decrease in heart rate and pain level” at the end of the session involving
music.
I can vouch for this effect myself. My daughter suffered from painful
colic as a baby, and I remember pacing up and down in the small hours with her on
my shoulder, singing, “Horsey, horsey, don’t you stop, just let your hooves go
clippety-clop...” It wasn’t a proper lullaby, I know, but she liked it. And it
worked: in no time at all I was nodding off, sometimes waking just as I was
about to walk into the wall. With her it took a little longer, but it always
did the trick in the end.
colic as a baby, and I remember pacing up and down in the small hours with her on
my shoulder, singing, “Horsey, horsey, don’t you stop, just let your hooves go
clippety-clop...” It wasn’t a proper lullaby, I know, but she liked it. And it
worked: in no time at all I was nodding off, sometimes waking just as I was
about to walk into the wall. With her it took a little longer, but it always
did the trick in the end.
We know without having to be told that something very atavistic is going
on here. A lullaby establishes a soothing correlation between an infant’s
physiology, its state of mind, and the outside world. This is necessary because
the infant’s first awareness of the world is of something bafflingly separate.
It’s huge and threatening, a “great, blooming buzzing confusion”, as the
philosopher William James described it.
on here. A lullaby establishes a soothing correlation between an infant’s
physiology, its state of mind, and the outside world. This is necessary because
the infant’s first awareness of the world is of something bafflingly separate.
It’s huge and threatening, a “great, blooming buzzing confusion”, as the
philosopher William James described it.
As soon as a lullaby begins, a soothing sense of order infuses the
infantile consciousness. The swaying rhythm is close to its own heartbeat, and
the quiet melodious sounds a blessed relief from the world’s usual racket; the
simple, repeating melody is also a source of comfort.
infantile consciousness. The swaying rhythm is close to its own heartbeat, and
the quiet melodious sounds a blessed relief from the world’s usual racket; the
simple, repeating melody is also a source of comfort.
Lullabies aren’t the only such source. Being rocked in a cradle has much
the same effect (the German word for lullaby is Wiegenlied, or
cradle song). Being strapped to the side of a walking mother works well, too,
as nomadic people could testify. “Day in, day out, a baby cannot have enough
walking," wrote the travel writer Bruce Chatwin. “And if babies
instinctively demand to be walked, the mother, on the African savannah, must
have been walking too.” He tells the story of a London doctor who rigged up a
machine to imitate the pace and gait of a walking mother. Provided it was fed
and watered, any baby placed in it would stop crying at once.
the same effect (the German word for lullaby is Wiegenlied, or
cradle song). Being strapped to the side of a walking mother works well, too,
as nomadic people could testify. “Day in, day out, a baby cannot have enough
walking," wrote the travel writer Bruce Chatwin. “And if babies
instinctively demand to be walked, the mother, on the African savannah, must
have been walking too.” He tells the story of a London doctor who rigged up a
machine to imitate the pace and gait of a walking mother. Provided it was fed
and watered, any baby placed in it would stop crying at once.
Other studies (there have been a flood of them in recent years) show
that other factors are important in co-ordinating the inner and outer worlds.
The mother’s voice has been shown to be soothing in itself, as have certain
combinations of vowels and consonants. Infantile babblings typically begin with
a high “ma” sound followed by a low one. It’s no accident that the word for
“mother” approximates to “ma-ma” across many cultures.
that other factors are important in co-ordinating the inner and outer worlds.
The mother’s voice has been shown to be soothing in itself, as have certain
combinations of vowels and consonants. Infantile babblings typically begin with
a high “ma” sound followed by a low one. It’s no accident that the word for
“mother” approximates to “ma-ma” across many cultures.
What particularly interested me in this instance was a comment on the
results from Tim Griffiths, a neurologist at the Wellcome Trust. “There’s an
ancient part of the brain in the limbic system which is responsible for the
emotional responses to music,” he said. “What I think is happening here is that
the emotional part of the brain is being stimulated by music. This is
decreasing the arousal level, and that in turn is affecting their pain response
levels.”
results from Tim Griffiths, a neurologist at the Wellcome Trust. “There’s an
ancient part of the brain in the limbic system which is responsible for the
emotional responses to music,” he said. “What I think is happening here is that
the emotional part of the brain is being stimulated by music. This is
decreasing the arousal level, and that in turn is affecting their pain response
levels.”
This caught my eye because so many studies show music works the opposite
way, by actually increasing levels of arousal. The so-called “Mozart effect”,
which purports to demonstrate that music can increase our cognitive power, has
led to a small growth industry in products such as bespoke classical CDs to “boost
your baby’s brainpower”. These claims have been challenged – but there’s some
solid evidence that music can increase performance levels, both of our bodies
and our brains, and affect the organism as a whole rather than this or that
function.
way, by actually increasing levels of arousal. The so-called “Mozart effect”,
which purports to demonstrate that music can increase our cognitive power, has
led to a small growth industry in products such as bespoke classical CDs to “boost
your baby’s brainpower”. These claims have been challenged – but there’s some
solid evidence that music can increase performance levels, both of our bodies
and our brains, and affect the organism as a whole rather than this or that
function.
If that’s so, then what
this new study shows is that music truly is the miraculous thing that mythology
has always claimed it to be. It can arouse and excite us, to the point of
delirium. It can sharpen our wits (I never feel more lucid than when I’m
listening to music). And it can also soothe us, returning us for a while to
that blessed state when anxiety and fear drop away, and all is well with the
world.
