Listening to Music Found to Lower Blood Pressure

Listening to half an hour of music each day may significantly lower your blood pressure, according to research reported from the American Society of Hypertension.

In the study, researchers found that people with mild hypertension (high blood pressure) who listened to classical, Celtic or Indian (raga) music for just 30 minutes a day for one month had significant reductions in their blood pressure.

“Listening to music is soothing and has often been associated with controlling patient-reported pain or anxiety and acutely reducing blood pressure,” study investigator Dr. Pietro A. Modesti, of the University of Florence in Italy, noted in a written statement from the meeting.

“But for the first time, today’s results clearly illustrate the impact daily music listening has on ambulatory blood pressure.”

Ambulatory blood pressure refers to readings taken repeatedly over the course of a day.

A total of 48 adults ages 45 to 70 who were taking medication to control mild hypertension took part in the study. Of these, 28 listened to 30 minutes of “rhythmically homogenous” classical, Celtic or raga music daily while practicing slow, controlled breathing exercises. 

The remaining 20 participants, serving as the control group, made no changes to their daily routine.

Blood pressure readings obtained one and four weeks later showed that systolic blood pressure - the top number in the blood pressure reading - dropped significantly in the music listeners. 

In contrast, the control group experienced only small, non-significant reductions in blood pressure.

“We are excited about the positive implications for both patients and physicians, who can now confidently explore music listening as a safe, effective, non-pharmacological treatment option or a complement to therapy,” Modesti said.

“Sadly, despite the global focus on prevention, it is predicted that 56 billion people worldwide will be hypertensive by 2025,” Modesti added. 

“In light of these devastating statistics, it is reassuring to consider that something as simple, easy and enjoyable as daily music listening combined with slow abdominal breathing, may help people naturally lower their blood pressure.”

Archaeologists discover a series of 2,000-year-old magic spells in Serbia

Researchers in eastern Serbia have discovered a series of magic spells on tiny rolls of gold and silver, buried alongside the remains of humans who died almost 2,000 years ago.

The incantations seem to invoke divine powers to do good or evil, but the researchers are still trying to translate exactly what was written, and what they were used for.

"The alphabet is Greek, that much we know. The language is Aramaic - it's a Middle Eastern mystery to us," chief researcher Miomir Korac, from the Archaeological Institute in Belgrade said.

The burial site is near the modern-day city of Kostolac, which was the site of the Roman city Viminacium between the 1st and 6th century AD. It's estimated that the latest remains - and the spells - were buried around the 4th century AD.

But while this is the first time archaeologists have discovered something like this in Serbia, they've seen similar tablets of 'binding magic' in other countries.

Binding spells were usually written to benefit or curse the living, but people would bury them with the deceased in the hopes that they would carry them either to angels or demons in the afterlife, and force them to do finish the job.

"They were often love charms, ordering someone to fall in love, but there were also dark, malignant curses, to the tune of: 'May your body turn dead, as cold and heavy as this lead,"

These charms were usually buried with people who had suffered a violent death, because it was believed that "souls of such people took longer to find rest and had a better chance of finding demons and deities and pass the wishes to them so they could do their magic". 

What these incantations reveal, are the details about the beliefs and faith of the residents of Viminacium at the time.

"This is a very important archaeological discovery because it shows how much hope they had in the 'curse tablets' so that they used precious metals," Korac said.

"According to my knowledge, such tablets have never been found inscribed in gold anywhere. According to the Roman customs, gold was never put into graves."

There's also evidence that the Roman city was in the middle of a religious shift during the 4th century, seeing as both Christian and pagan gods are called upon.

"Opposing deities appear on these tablets, as if invoking both Christ and the Antichrist today, or Christ and pagan gods, and that is weird. This shows us that the process of converting to Christianity was slow." 

The team is still in the middle of excavating the site, so until they've finished digging and the proper analysis of these remains begins, we're not going to know much more about the mysterious find.

But it just goes to show that there's always so much more left to learn about the societies that came before us.

Bobbing For Apples

The tradition of bobbing for apples dates back to the Roman invasion of Britain, when the conquering army merged their own celebrations with traditional Celtic festivals.

The Romans brought with them the apple tree, a representation of the goddess of fruit trees, Pomona.

When an apple is sliced in half, the seeds form a pentagram-like shape, and it is thought that the manifestation of such a symbol meant that the apple could be used to determine marriages during this time of year. 

From this belief comes the game bobbing for apples. 

During the annual celebration, young unmarried people try to bite into an apple floating in water or hanging from a string; the first person to bite into the apple would be the next one to be allowed to marry.

Mabon Apple Dolls