Why playing music to premature babies 'helps them sleep and improves their breathing'

Playing live music to a prematurely born baby can slow its heartbeat and make the child breathe more easily, according to a new study.

The sound of an instrument or parent singing can make a newborn sleep better and puts them in a quietly attentive state, The Daily Mail reports.

In some cases it also improves sucking behaviours which are important to help them feed.
The researchers found the effect was true regardless of which song was played, although the tracks had to be slowed down so that they sounded like a lullaby.

The study adds to the growing body of evidence that music can benefit newborn children.
Doctors in the US have reported that it is as effective - not to mention safer - than using sedatives before giving them heart or brain scans.

The new research was coordinated by Beth Israel Hospital in New York across 11 American hospitals.
Music therapists worked with the mothers of 272 premature babies for several sessions over two weeks using either two instruments, singing or no music.

The instruments used were a ‘gato box’, which is a wooden drum, and an ‘ocean disc’ which is a cylinder full of beads which was used to make whooshing noises.