Music versus guided mindfulness for blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety

Cardiovascular Effects of Music Versus Guided Mindfulness: A Randomized Crossover Study

This study tests whether listening to curated music or doing a guided mindfulness session better lowers blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of anxiety in healthy adults.

Quick facts

• Phase: NA
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years to 75 Years
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Sir Mortimer B. Davis - Jewish General Hospital (other)
• Locations: 1 site (Montreal, Quebec)
• Trial ID: NCT07338500 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This is a randomized crossover experiment in which each participant attends a single three-hour, in-person visit and completes both a curated music listening session and a guided mindfulness session. Blood pressure, heart rate, and self-reported anxiety are measured before, during, and after each session, and participants complete questionnaires about personal traits and preferences. Participants are healthy adults with normal baseline blood pressure and must avoid caffeine and nicotine before and during the visit to limit confounding influences. The investigators hypothesize that music will produce larger reductions in blood pressure and heart rate than guided mindfulness and will explore whether individual differences predict response.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Healthy adults with normal baseline blood pressure (<120/80 mmHg), who can abstain from caffeine and nicotine before and during the visit, have no hearing problems that prevent participating, and are not taking medications that affect blood pressure are ideal candidates.

Not a fit: People with hypertension or cardiovascular disease, those taking blood-pressure–affecting medications, individuals with significant untreated hearing loss, or those with active substance-use issues are unlikely to benefit from participation.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the results could help people choose a simple, non-drug approach—music or mindfulness—to reduce short-term blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety.

How similar studies have performed: Previous studies show both music and mindfulness can reduce physiological stress markers like blood pressure and heart rate, but direct randomized crossover comparisons between the two are limited.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Normal baseline blood pressure (systolic BP \< 120 mmHg and diastolic BP \< 80mmHg).
* Abstention from caffeine intake for at least 12 hours before the study session and throughout the session, as caffeine may influence cardiovascular measurements.
* Abstention from using nicotine or tobacco products for at least 1 hour before the study session and throughout the session, as these substances may influence cardiovascular measurements.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Significant hearing impairments that cannot be improved with hearing aids or sound amplification.
* Current use of medications that could affect blood pressure.
* History of hypertension or cardiovascular disease.
* Diagnosis of active substance use disorder, or reported patterns of alcohol, cannabis, or recreational/non-prescribed substance use likely to affect cardiovascular function.

Where this trial is running

Montreal, Quebec

• Jewish General Hospital — Montreal, Quebec, Canada (RECRUITING)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Kyle Greenway, MD — Sir Mortimer B. Davis - Jewish General Hospital, McGill University
• Study coordinator: Elizabeth Misener, BSc

Conditions: Music Listening Intervention, Mindfulness-based Intervention, Music, Mindfulness