We're thunderstruck to learn that listening to AC/DC improves a surgeon's speed and accuracy
A study from Heidelberg University found that Australian hard rock improves surgical performance
Good news for every surgeon who amps themselves up for particularly in-depth operations by singing “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” to themselves: A new study has found that listening to loud AC/DC during operations can improve surgical speed and accuracy.
Researchers at Heidelberg University in Germany decided to look into the common practice of playing music in operating rooms and see if evidence could be found that certain genres actually increase a surgeon’s efficacy. Their findings, published late last month, showed that music does have an effect on performance—and that loud AC/DC works best.
The study was performed by having a group of novice surgeons perform laparoscopic surgery (gut-slicing, for us laypeople) while listening to hard or soft rock at different volumes. As The Sun reports, “doctors were almost 50 per cent quicker stitching up wounds when The Beatles’ hits ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Let It Be’ were played in the background,” though this improvement “was lost if those tracks were played loud.”