Mozart helps pre-term babies grow

It used to be thought that it could make children smarter, but doctors are today discovering that the music of Mozart can also help premature babies grow faster. Premature babies in a special care unit, who are being played 30 minutes of Mozart piano music every day, are gaining weight faster than those who aren’t. “It’s not exactly clear how the music is affecting them, but it makes them calmer and less likely to be agitated,” said Dr Dror Mendel of the Tel Aviv Medical Centre. As a result, the babies are expending less energy, and are gaining weight faster.

The Tel Aviv research is based on a study published in 1993 that suggested college students could improve their IQ by listening to a Mozart piano sonata for 10 minutes a day. The researchers are also going to explore the effects that music has on the unborn baby.

(Source: American Friends of Tel Aviv University; http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11369).