Those who have read my various articles and/or my books will be aware of the positive impact I attribute to playing soothing classical music to children while they sleep. This morning I came across this interesting article; an exerpt from which I include below:

It’s well known that listening to music can help patients. Several studies suggest patients who listen to soothing music through headphones while being put to sleep and during surgery require less anaesthetic – up to 50% less in some instances – and recover more quickly afterwards. One groundbreaking 2008 study found that melodic music actually decreased the activity of individual neurons in the brain. “There’s no question, music reduces anxiety before surgery,” says Zeev Kain, an anaesthetist at Yale University, who has done research on the subject. “It will decrease the amount of pain or anxiety medication a patient needs.”