An American one study examined the connection between musical taste and health. The American healthcare company Tebra and the news site “The Intake” surveyed 1,002 people in the USA. 58 percent of them felt at home in rock, 15 percent described themselves as metalheads. 50 percent liked pop, 25 percent liked listening to R&B and hip-hop.
According to the study: No metal in the waiting room!
But where tastes usually differ, 31 percent of those surveyed agreed on one thing: the music in the doctor’s waiting room. Of all the genres, heavy metal is the one they least want to hear in the waiting room. Other genres that are considered aggressive, such as hip-hop or rap, would also promote stress in medical situations. There was even greater agreement about what should run instead. “With its calm and timeless compositions, classical music was described as the most relaxing genre by 50 percent of patients,” according to the survey analysis. The same applies to jazz and lo-fi, which followed classical in terms of waiting room preferences. Those surveyed also felt that time would pass more quickly with jazz.
Spotify analysis confirms survey
The test subjects’ statements were compared with a Spotify analysis. Playlists that indicated use in the given scenario were compared. In this case, these were song compilations with the words “waiting room” in the description. 286 Spotify playlists with a total of 59,363 songs were analyzed. This resulted in a great preference for the singer Taylor Swift. The Beatles, Maroon 5 and Ed Sheeran are also often featured in playlists. The Intake even named a favorite waiting room song: Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Do you go to the doctor often or honestly?
Another connection emerged from the survey: Metalheads go to the doctor least often. 27 percent of the genre fans surveyed said they rarely had preventive care. Country listeners probably act in the opposite direction. According to the study, 53 percent regularly go to doctor’s offices. Accordingly, they are also the healthiest music fans.
Once they got to the doctor, the respondents’ honesty towards medical staff was also examined. 31 percent of folk music fans stated that they did not always tell the truth when examined. It’s a similar story for indie fans and punks. Nevertheless, they still turned out to be the third and fifth healthiest groups in the survey. In contrast, R&B and soul fans are the group with the lowest health. According to the study, the most honest music fans are fans of classical music.