It’s time to dust off your “Saturday Night Fever” vinyl and . . . resuscitate.
The New York Presbyterian-Hospital has just released a playlist of 40 songs that mirror the rhythm of CPR, Quartz reported. The hospital explains that the best songs to do chest compressions to have roughly 100 bpm, or beats per minute, and the Bee Gees’ 1977 classic “Stayin’ Alive” landed the top spot in a list of appropriate tunes. (Other catchy lifesavers include “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake and “Heartbreaker” by Mariah Carey and Jay Z.)
The Bee Gees track has been associated with CPR techniques for years, to the point where it even gets spoofed in broader pop-culture. (See season five of “The Office” for one hilarious example.) But in 2011, a study by Emergency Medicine Journal questioned the idea that one should channel the Bee Gees in life-or-death situations, observing that participants didn’t press deep enough on patients when giving CPR to that killer disco beat.
Happily, this playlist suggests otherwise, so let the rhythm take over.
And remember that while the Bee Gees’ music isn’t guaranteed to save your life, the past 50 years have proven beyond a doubt that it is certain to save your soul.