Music during dialysis may ease fatigue, low mood and pain
☕ Includes a question for the family ↓
Living with dialysisPart of a story we are following · 2 articles · See every update
If someone you love spends hours in a dialysis chair, here is a gentle idea you can start today: a playlist of favorite songs and a pair of headphones. A large review of trials found that music during dialysis eases fatigue, low mood and pain.
It costs almost nothing, it has no side effects, and it fits right into the hours already spent in the chair.
How the study worked
This was a Cochrane review, which gathers all the best trials on a question and weighs them together. It covered 27 randomized trials with 1,584 people on hemodialysis, in 13 countries and territories across Asia, Europe, North America and South America. It was published on Oct. 26, 2026, in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Most trials followed people for weeks or months, and larger, longer trials will tell us even more about how long the benefits last.
What they found
People who had music during their sessions did better than people who had usual care, no intervention, headphones with no music or white noise, or a video. The gains showed up in three things that matter most in daily life:
- Fatigue: lower in the short term. In one trial of 62 people, fatigue on a 10-point scale dropped by 3.14 points, or about 3 points.
- Low mood: lower both in the short term (up to four weeks) and in the medium term (four weeks to six months).
- Pain: lower in the short term.
So music helped people feel less worn out, less down and less sore.
The reviewers also looked at blood pressure. Results were mixed there, so music is best thought of as a comfort for how you feel, not a blood pressure tool.
What counts as music in these studies?
It ranged from listening to chosen music through headphones during dialysis to sessions guided by a music therapist. The simplest version, music you like played during the session, is the one you can set up at home.
What you can do today
Build a playlist of 10 or so songs your mom loves, the ones that calm her or make her smile. Save it on a phone, charge a pair of headphones, and pack both for the next session. Ask the dialysis team to confirm that headphones are fine in the unit, since most are happy to say yes.
Talk about it at home
Try it at home
Some people need a machine to clean their blood for hours at a time. Scientists checked whether listening to music during that time helps, and it seems to make people feel less tired, sad and sore. Here is a question for the table: how would you test whether a song really makes you feel better? Try it at home. Rate your mood from 1 to 10 before and after listening to a favorite song, then try it again with a quiet minute and compare.
Keep exploring
Copies this article and its questions so you can paste them into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or the AI you use, and keep the conversation going.
Questions and answers
- Does music help people on hemodialysis?
- Yes. A Cochrane review of 27 trials found music can ease fatigue, low mood and pain in the short term.
- Does music lower blood pressure during dialysis?
- Results on blood pressure were mixed, so music is best seen as a comfort for how you feel.
- What kind of music should I use?
- The trials ranged from chosen music on headphones to sessions with a music therapist. Songs the person loves are a good place to start.
- Can I use headphones during dialysis?
- Ask the dialysis unit first. Many allow them, and the team can tell you what works in their space.
