Music therapists use a technique called entrainment, in which we match the tempo of our improvised music to the breath or heart rate of a patient. Eventually, we can speed up or slow down our music and the person’s body rhythms will go with it. This is effective even in the ICU with a patient who is otherwise unresponsive. If that patient is in a state of stress, music therapy can be used to bring them into a parasympathetic state, which may help them get home faster.
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