British Medical Journal 09 July 2005 MInerva column

Minerva -- 331 (7508): 118 -- BMJ (p2 of
5)

Minerva is unsurprised by the findings of an inquiry into the^ effects
of music on preoperative sedation and the hypnotic effects^ of
anaesthetics ( Anesthesia and Analgesia 2005;101:
103-6[25][Abstract/Free Full Text]).^ It reports that listening to
music during premedication with^ midazolam is associated with
increased sedation level and lower^ bispectral index values
(indicating greater hypnotic effects)^ in the preoperative period.
Participants were invited to bring^ in their favourite selection of
music, and the psychological^ basis for the observed effects may
include issues of control^ and distraction during an otherwise
stressful time.^

A historical foray into the benefits of music is found in the^
American Journal of Public Health ( 2005;95: 1106-9)[26][Abstract/Free
Full Text]. The positive^ link between music and happier workplaces
has long been recognised.^ Music has been shown to increase
efficiency, lift spirits, and^ even bind otherwise disparate groups of
people together. The^ now defunct BBC radio programme Music While You
Work may well^ have contributed to a reduction in the number of
accidents at^ work. It was scheduled at mid-morning and mid-afternoon,
the^ times when lapses of concentration were most likely to happen.^