Health sciences education involves intensive theoretical and clinical training that can expose students to psychological and physiological stressors, potentially affecting their well-being and academic success. Music may help mitigate these challenges. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of music interventions across psychological, physiological, and academic outcomes in health sciences students. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in nine databases up to August 2025, following PRISMA guidelines. Randomized controlled and controlled clinical trials comparing music interventions with control group were included. Meta-analyses were conducted using RevMan (version 5.4). Thirty-four studies ( n = 2841) were included, mostly nursing ( n = 24), medical ( n = 7), dental ( n = 2), and midwifery ( n = 1) students. Meta-analyses demonstrated significant reductions in anxiety (SMD = − 0.48, 95% CI − 0.72, − 0.23; p = 0.001), depression (SMD = − 1.00, 95% CI − 1.95, − 0.04; p = 0.040), and vital signs, including systolic blood pressure (MD = − 7.15, 95% CI − 9.64, − 4.66; p < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (MD = − 3.72, 95% CI − 5.53, − 1.91; p = 0.050), and pulse rate (MD = − 3.77, 95% CI − 7.46, − 0.07; p = 0.050). No significant effects were found for stress, self-efficacy, sleep quality, pain, or academic performance. Music interventions effectively improve emotional well-being and autonomic regulation among health sciences students. Although their effects on academic or behavioral outcomes remain inconclusive, music represents a simple and safe approach to enhance psychological resilience in educational environments. International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD420251150104).
Dalli et al. (Sat,) studied this question.