URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — Treating a disease like cancer can be difficult at times, that’s why Carle Illinois College of Medicine is hoping they can ease the pressure with a new study.

For the past 20 years, the associate dean for research and innovation at the college has been exploring ways you can use music to heal people. He said his findings show that listening to songs after surgery can help people reduce stress and recover faster.

He’s been running several tests involving AI and measuring heart rate variability. Here’s how it works:

“We would provide you with the app that gives you music choices and the self-learning algorithm that’s correlated to your heart rate variability,” said Claudius Conrad, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation. “So over time, the more you listen to the music, the more music will be suggested that’s more relaxing than what you could select yourself, because we know from your heart rate variability improvement that yes, this music is very relaxing for you.”

He said the next goal is expanding the research by testing more people.