Music therapy for human spaceflights: psycho- physiological responses of musical stimulus under hypergravity stressors

<div> <div> <div><p> </p><div> <div> <div> <p>Music has been historically reported in spaceflights as inducing on astronauts positive psychological and physiological effects in a similar manner to Guided Imagery, a technique often used by professionals in multiple settings such as sports, to reduce stress and anxiety, and improve focus prior to or during an activity, Listening to music has also been reported by trained spaceflight crews during their pressurization checks of the vehicle prior to launch. Once launched they encounter hypergravity conditions that put physiological and psychological stress upon the body, however, it is not documented the effect of this practice of listening to music acts to reduces stress. With commercial spaceflight tourism on the horizon, where a wider population will be exposed to these larger hypergravity stresses for longer periods of time, the potential for non-invasive countermeasures to reduce possible stress would be advantageous. The aim of this study was to understand if music could be used during hypergravity stress to induce a positive psychological state and reduce markers of physiological stress. The experiment was kindly supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) Education Office and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as part of the ESA Spin your Thesis – Human Edition 2018. </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>