A new song has been written that can reduce the intensity of a painful headache, helping you tune out your suffering, according to its developers.
It uses instrumental, orchestral and vocal elements to create a sense of 'wonder,' according to its co-creator, Dr Claire Howlin, from University College Dublin.
Named All of US, it was tested on 286 people suffering from active acute pains including headache, backache and general muscle ache, the team explained.
Working with musician Anatole, they wanted to create something that would 'help people feel empowered so they could dissociate from their pain.'
Funded by Nurofen, the testing found that All Of Us helped to reduce feelings of pain intensity and unpleasantness in a way that was clinically and statically significant.
It works through both distraction from the pain, and by convincing the brain to release a dose of the happy chemical, dopamine.
A new song has been written that can reduce the intensity of a painful headache, helping you tune out your suffering, according to its developers. Stock image
The new track is part of the Nurofen Tune Out Pain project that brings together experts from the worlds of science, pain management and music.
Anatole, is a conservatory-trained trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist, and was brought on board to compose the track, based on research by Dr Howlin.
During testing, participants with different types of acute pain such as headache, backache or period pain reported their levels of pain intensity decreasing while listening to the track.
Dr Howlin's research into music and pain allowed her to direct Anatole to include certain elements required to help properly distract from suffering.
This included making the track as engaging, interesting and enjoyable as possible so people would not focus on their pain.
This was achieved by applying instrumental and orchestral sounds, such as strings, pianos, bells, and minor vocal samples, to elicit a sense of wonder, empowerment and inspire mental strength to help dissociate from pain.
'Creating music that was driven by science was an exciting challenge for me as a music producer' commented Anatole.
'All Of Us is special because every note, beat and sound is designed to create a particular effect on the listener, based on insights provided by Dr Howlin.
'Music and pain is something all of us experience – this project shows how powerful music is and the potential benefit to our wellbeing.'
Dr Howlin said music has the ability to give people a big burst of dopamine in their neural reward network.
'This track reduced both pain intensity and unpleasantness and to achieve an effect of this size for a completely unfamiliar track, really underscores the potential of creating specific pieces of music for pain management,' she explained.
The full results of the Tune Out Pain study will be
