What Does Science Say About Sound Healing?

Sound has been used in healing, ritual and contemplative traditions for centuries. Chanting, drumming and sustained listening have long offered ways to support rest, express emotion and explore states of awareness. Today, researchers are investigating some of the changes practitioners and participants describe: shifts in mood, pain, breathing, stress physiology and brain activity.

In this sense, scientific research is catching up with a much longer history of practice. There is still more to investigate than the existing studies can explain, particularly around the individual and sometimes profound experiences people have in sessions. Traditional knowledge, practitioner observations and scientific experiments each contribute to that enquiry. Their value becomes clearer when we identify what each source has actually observed or tested.

“Sound healing” covers many different practices. Listening to singing bowls, joining a drumming group, humming and receiving vibration through a specialist treatment bed involve different forms of participation and sound exposure. A finding about one cannot automatically be applied to all of them. That makes the research more interesting to me: we can look closely at what each approach offers and where questions remain.

What the Research Suggests So Far

Studies have reported changes in anxiety, depressed mood, tension, pain, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and measures of brain activity. Some investigate the immediate effects of a single session; others follow people taking part over several weeks. Some use comparison groups and random allocation; others document changes before and after a session or programme.

Practitioner books also contain research discussions, case histories, experimental observations and practical methods developed through years of working with clients. They explore emotional processing, energetic balance, intention and altered states of awareness, as well as physical responses. These texts can take readers well beyond what appears in a short online summary, although the strength of evidence for a particular explanation or health claim still needs to be considered separately.

Throughout this article, I distinguish findings from research papers, practitioner accounts and my own experience. This is a starting point rather than an exhaustive bibliography. You are welcome to share useful references with me at foundinsoundappointments@gmail.com  so this resource can continue to grow for readers and therapists.

RESEARCH LINKS & TEXTS

Himalayan/ Metal Singing Bowls

Singing bowls are among the instruments investigated in sound-based meditation research. Much of this evidence concerns metal Himalayan or Tibetan singing bowls, or sessions combining several instruments; findings should not automatically be attributed to crystal bowls alone.

• Mood and tension: Goldsby et al. (2017) studied 62 adults before and after a sound meditation centred on Tibetan singing bowls. Participants reported less tension, anger, fatigue and depressed mood, alongside increased spiritual wellbeing. The session also included other instruments, so the results concern the whole listening experience. Because there was no comparison group, the study documents a change without isolating the contribution of the bowls.

• Blood pressure and heart rate: Landry (2014) used a randomised crossover design with 51 participants. Each person attended two sessions: 12 minutes of Himalayan singing bowl sound or silence, followed by 20 minutes of directed relaxation. Systolic blood pressure and heart rate declined more in the bowl condition. This offers evidence for bowls as an addition to a relaxation practice.

• A broader clinical picture: Cai et al.'s 2025 systematic review identified 19 clinical studies from eight countries, including nine randomised controlled trials. It reported potential benefits for anxiety, depression, sleep and cognitive function in some patient groups, including people with cancer. The studies used different populations and treatment combinations, so these findings describe areas of promise rather than one established effect for every bowl session.

• Psychological and physiological outcomes: Lin, Yang and Wang's separate 2025 review included 14 quantitative studies. It examined anxiety and depressive symptoms alongside measures such as heart-rate variability and brainwave activity. Differences between studies prevented a pooled meta-analysis, highlighting the need for more consistent methods and reporting.

Sound massage is a related practice in which bowls are placed on or around the body so that vibration can be felt directly. Contact vibration adds a tactile component to the listening experience. Bowl research includes approaches involving sound and vibration, but this is not one standardised treatment: bowl placement, playing technique, duration and the participant's health all matter.

The developing evidence around relaxation, anxiety and pain provides reasons to investigate these methods further. It does not yet establish that on-body bowl work produces the same effects as listening, or that findings from specialist vibroacoustic equipment apply directly to sound massage.

The Voice

Your voice is one of the most accessible sound healing tools you carry. Humming, chanting, singing and toning combine sound production with breathing, attention and bodily sensation. Toning generally involves sustained vocal sounds, often vowels, without needing a song or lyrics.

Jonathan and Andi Goldman's The Humming Effect discusses conscious humming, research and practical exercises. Jonathan Goldman's Healing Sounds: The Power of Harmonics explores overtone singing, harmonics and intention. Githa Ben-David's The Ultimate Book on Vocal Sound Healing presents her approach to vocal exploration, emotional patterns and spiritual experience. Mitchell Gaynor's The Healing Power of Sound brings together his medical and therapeutic perspective with breathing, meditation and toning. These books offer different approaches to working with the voice. The following studies show some of the physiological and psychological processes researchers have investigated.

Humming and Nitric Oxide

Weitzberg and Lundberg (2002) studied ten healthy people and found that nasal nitric oxide increased approximately 15-fold during humming compared with quiet exhalation at a fixed flow rate. Their work points to improved gas exchange between the sinuses and nasal cavity through oscillating airflow.

Nitric oxide has important biological roles, including in airway defence and vascular signalling. However, this experiment measured nasal nitric oxide; it did not demonstrate that humming increases whole-body immunity or improves circulation throughout the body. The authors explicitly called for investigation of the therapeutic effects of improved sinus ventilation. This is an interesting measurable effect of humming, with further questions to explore.

You can also read Jonathan Goldman's PDF on Humming for Health here.

OM Chanting and Brain Activity

Kalyani et al. (2011) examined 12 healthy volunteers using functional MRI. Audible OM chanting was associated with decreased activity in several brain regions compared with rest, including the right amygdala, hippocampi and thalami. The comparison task, pronouncing “ssss”, did not show the same pattern.

The authors discussed similarities with findings from vagus nerve stimulation, but they did not directly demonstrate vagus nerve stimulation or test treatment for anxiety, depression or epilepsy. The study gives a specific starting point for exploring chanting and emotional brain networks.

Toning, Attention and Breathing

Peper et al. (2019) compared three minutes of vocal toning with a brief mindfulness practice in 91 undergraduate students. Participants reported less mind wandering and fewer intrusive thoughts during toning.

Physiological measurements in 11 participants also found slower breathing during toning—approximately 4.6 breaths per minute compared with 11.6 during mindfulness—and greater heart-rate variability. There was no significant difference between the practices in reported peacefulness, relaxation, anxiety or depression. The study supports toning as a potentially useful way to focus attention and alter breathing; it does not establish that toning is more effective than meditation overall.

Singing, Heart-Rate Variability and Connection

Vickhoff et al. (2013) investigated humming, hymn singing and a structured mantra. They showed how musical phrasing guides breathing and how breathing relates to fluctuations in heart rate. When people sang a regular structure together, their heart-rate fluctuations became more coordinated. This illustrates respiratory sinus arrhythmia: the normal relationship between breathing and the heart speeding up and slowing down.

Group singing research also explores mood and social wellbeing:

• Kreutz et al. (2004) found improved positive mood and increased salivary immunoglobulin A after choir singing. A change in an immune marker does not itself demonstrate greater resistance to illness.

• Fancourt et al. (2016), studying 193 people affected by cancer, found that an hour of choir singing was associated with improved mood, reduced stress and cortisol, and changes in immune-related markers. The study did not test cancer treatment or recovery.

• Coulton et al. (2015) randomly assigned 258 older adults to community singing or usual activities. Singing improved mental health-related quality of life, with reductions in anxiety and depression at three months. Qualitative research linked to this programme also described social and community benefits.

Gongs Gongs produce complex spectra of sound, with overlapping tones and overtones that build, fluctuate and decay. Some of these components are inharmonic, meaning they do not follow the simple whole-number relationships found in a harmonic series. Their changing sound gives the listener many layers to follow; depending on the instrument, distance and intensity, vibration may also be felt physically.

Practitioners and participants describe deep absorption, relaxation, emotional release and changes in awareness. Don Conreaux's teachings explore gong playing, meditation and gong consciousness. Sheila Whittaker's Sound Healing with Gongs discusses the gong as a tool for relaxation and stress relief, alongside playing techniques, acoustics and practitioner experience.

Jain Wells's Gong Consciousness: Self-Healing Through the Power of Sound adds another perspective. In her public practitioner material, Wells reports reduced anxiety, stress and mental tension, emotional processing and relief from physical pain. She also proposes benefits for circulation and inflammation, drawing on her experimental exploration and therapeutic work.

These accounts describe the effects she observes in practice; they are not equivalent to controlled evidence that gong sessions treat particular diseases. Gongs also appear in studies of combined sound meditation, including the September 2026 trial discussed below. Such studies help investigate the full sound-bath experience, but cannot identify the gong's independent contribution.

There are useful questions here about attention, sound intensity, tactile sensation and changes in awareness. Rhythmic stimulation and vibroacoustic therapy provide related research avenues, but a gong's changing tones do not necessarily produce the same stimulus as a programmed rhythm or vibration delivered through a treatment chair. Those connections need testing rather than assuming. Drumming

Drumming can involve active playing, listening, movement and shared rhythm. Research into community drumming and laboratory listening experiments explores different aspects of its effects.

Community Drumming and Mental Health

Fancourt et al. (2016), working through the Royal College of Music and collaborating institutions, studied a ten-week group drumming programme for mental health service users. Compared with a non-drumming group, participants showed improvements in anxiety, depression and social resilience, with significant benefits maintained at three-month follow-up.

Exploratory saliva measurements suggested changes in inflammatory signalling, including increased interleukin-4. Cortisol did decrease numerically, but the change was not statistically significant. The study was not randomised, and its biological measurements were taken only in the drumming group, so it cannot establish a general improvement in immune function. Nevertheless, it gives a detailed example of how sustained participation in shared rhythm can support mental and social wellbeing, with physiological changes worth investigating further.

Rhythm and Altered States of Awareness

Gordon et al. (2026) recruited 40 participants for ten-minute listening periods with drumming at 1.5, 4 and 9.5 beats per second, while recording EEG. Stronger neural tracking of the four-beats-per-second rhythm was associated with stronger altered experiences.

The four-beat rhythm did not produce significantly stronger altered experiences than the other rhythms on average. The finding concerns individual brain responses and susceptibility, rather than a universal “theta rhythm” prescription. The researchers also distinguished neural tracking from proof that the sound entrained an existing brain oscillation. This is a valuable example of neuroscience examining processes related to the longstanding use of repetitive drumming in ritual and contemplative practice.

Vibroacoustic Therapy (With Low-Frequency Sound)

Vibroacoustic therapy uses low-frequency sound vibration delivered through specialist equipment, such as chairs, mats or beds, often alongside music and therapeutic interaction. Frequencies commonly discussed in this field are around 30–120 Hz; the stimulus also depends on intensity, pulsation, duration and the area of contact.

Kantor et al.'s 2022 scoping review examined vibroacoustic treatment in adults experiencing pain. It found studies reporting pain relief, particularly in observational work, but results from controlled studies were mixed. Equipment and treatment protocols varied considerably, and the evidence did not allow a firm conclusion about effectiveness. Forty hertz was a commonly used frequency, without being established as optimal for everyone. Vibration may engage touch-sensitive receptors, while music, relaxation and therapeutic interaction may affect attention and the experience of pain. These are plausible avenues for investigation; the relative contribution of each has not been established consistently.

In our sessions, clients sometimes describe the low tones of a gong or large drum as grounding or physically relieving. Those experiences deserve attention. They do not mean that an acoustic instrument reproduces the dose or mechanism of a specialist vibroacoustic device, and research into one should not be presented as proof of the other.

While gongs and large drums have not been studied in the same way, they also produce deep low-frequency vibrations that travel through the body. The principle is similar: low-frequency sound penetrates muscles and tissues, creating strong vibrational effects that many participants describe as grounding and deeply relaxing. More research is needed to confirm these parallels but anecdotally, it's something we see in our sound sessions.

Tuning Forks and Energetic Approaches

Tuning forks produce a relatively defined pitch and can be used near or in contact with the body. Contact application provides tactile vibration as well as sound. Energetic approaches also use changes perceived in the fork's sound or vibration as part of assessment and therapeutic work.

In Tuning the Human Biofield, Eileen Day McKusick explains her Biofield Tuning method. The book discusses research on sound and energy, presents a map of the biofield, and describes her observations of unresolved emotional experiences and perceived disturbances in that field. Her proposed mechanisms and clinical accounts are central to understanding her approach.

There is also published research associated with this method. Shamini Jain et al.'s 2023 feasibility study investigated virtually delivered Biofield Tuning and reported reductions in anxiety and other distress measures. It was an uncontrolled study designed to inform further research, rather than establish efficacy. Authors disclosed involvement with organisations that developed, delivered or funded the approach. The results do not validate every proposed biofield mechanism.

June Leslie Wieder's Song of the Spine explores her “bone toning” method, including tuning-fork applications, case histories and proposed correspondences between frequencies and vertebrae. It offers material for understanding and investigating her method. Assigning one therapeutic frequency to each vertebra remains a practitioner proposition rather than an established anatomical finding.

These approaches contribute questions about touch, sound, attention, therapeutic interaction and energetic experience. Books and training can explain how the methods are used in practice, while independently replicated studies are needed to test particular mechanisms and treatment claims.

Nature Sounds

Nature-sound research extends beyond birdsong. Studies examine flowing water, wind, mixed natural soundscapes and recordings, measuring both people's preferences and changes in mood or physiology.

Stress, Anxiety and Physical Recovery

• A broad synthesis: Buxton et al. (2021) identified 36 publications examining natural sounds. Their meta-analysis of 18 studies found evidence of reduced stress and annoyance, alongside improved health-related outcomes and positive emotions. Water sounds had the largest average effects for health and positive emotions, while bird sounds had the largest average effects for reducing stress and annoyance among the sound categories examined. [20]

• Anxiety, heart rate and breathing: Zhu et al.'s 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis, Effects of Natural Sound Exposure on Health Recovery, combined 15 studies involving 1,285 participants. It found reductions in anxiety, heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate. Results varied substantially between studies, and cognitive benefits were not consistent. [21]

• Comparison with quiet: Fan and Baharum's 2024 meta-analysis found benefits of natural sounds compared with quiet environments for heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate, but no significant difference in perceived stress. Different outcome measures can therefore tell different parts of the story. [22]

• Brain connectivity and autonomic activity: Gould van Praag et al. (2017) found that naturalistic soundscapes, compared with artificial ones, were associated with changes in brain connectivity and increased peak high-frequency heart-rate variability, interpreted as increased parasympathetic activity. Participants' starting physiological state influenced their response. [23]

• Birdsong: Stobbe et al. (2022) randomly assigned 295 participants to six minutes of recorded birdsong or traffic soundscapes. Anxiety and paranoia decreased in both birdsong conditions. Depressed mood decreased only in the condition containing more diverse birdsong, and cognitive performance did not improve.

Which Nature Sounds Do People Prefer?

Preference research helps explain why birdsong and water are frequently chosen for restorative listening. Liu et al.'s 2021 study of urban residents in China ranked flowing water, wind through leaves and birdsong as the most preferred sounds in public landscape spaces. This is evidence about what people liked in that context, complementing studies of physiological and psychological effects.

The distinction matters: a sound can be well liked without every proposed health effect having been demonstrated, and beneficial average results do not guarantee the same experience for everyone. Nevertheless, birdsong and water have both preference research and restorative-effect research behind them.

This helped inform our choice of nature sounds for Sonic Lumins®. We paired therapeutic instruments and voice with natural sound worlds—including birdsong and water—that we recorded ourselves. These backgrounds bring something of the outdoors into the listening experience, offering a connection with nature wherever you are.

Research on Combined Sound Meditation

Sound baths commonly combine several instruments, focused listening and periods of rest. Research into these complete experiences is relevant alongside studies of individual instruments.

Ravikumar and Sathyanarayanan's September 2026 randomised trial involved 100 adults in a four-week programme. The intervention included daily, supervised 60-minute sessions using recorded audio described as 528 Hz, with bowls, gongs, bells and tingshas, plus advised home practice. Compared with a remotely delivered music-control programme, participants had lower post-intervention anxiety, depressive symptoms, salivary cortisol and blood pressure.

The groups differed in delivery setting and sound content, and the intervention combined several elements. The trial cannot isolate a particular instrument, frequency or recording as the cause. It nevertheless adds preliminary evidence about incorporating recorded and acoustic sound into a regular meditative practice—an approach relevant to how people might work with Sonic Lumins®, although our recordings have not themselves been clinically tested.

Research Emerging from Practitioner Training

The British Academy of Sound Therapy's Turning the Volume Down report, which I took part in as a practitioner, describes a project involving 120 people with chronic pain. Participants attended either two soundbath or gongbath sessions, or four weekly individual sound therapy sessions. The report states that 12% were completely relieved of their chronic pain within two to four sessions, and describes changes in continuous pain and daily functioning.

This is practitioner-led observational work with varied interventions, rather than a controlled clinical trial. The report does not establish how much of the improvement was caused by sound or how long it lasted. Its value includes documenting participant experience and identifying questions for further research, such as the contribution of particular instruments, reflective work and repeated sessions.

In Summary

Sound healing brings together science, therapeutic practice and art. Research helps us examine measurable responses. Practitioners bring experience of working with people over time, including effects that may be difficult to capture with a questionnaire immediately after one session. Traditional approaches contribute methods, context and ways of understanding the experience.

Scientific research is still developing tools and study designs to investigate this full range of practice. Some findings provide measurable counterparts to longstanding observations; other experiences and proposed explanations remain open questions. A limited research literature should encourage careful enquiry, rather than dismissing what people report or treating every explanation as already established.

An emotional release, a sense of connection or a change in bodily awareness can be meaningful to the person experiencing it. Research can help explore how often such experiences occur, what supports them and whether they lead to lasting changes in health and wellbeing.

My training with the British Academy of Sound Therapy and other teachers informs how I work with sound. My ongoing study of anatomy and physiology with Brighton Holistics also deepens my understanding of the body. I work holistically, bringing this learning together with attentive practice and what clients share after sessions.

Explore Sound Further

If you’d like to explore the instruments outside an in-person session, or perhaps you just can't physically get to an in-person session we've created Sonic Lumins® Pack 1 which brings together thirteen recordings of therapeutic instruments and voice, paired with nature sounds we recorded ourselves.

Each recording gives particular instruments or voice space to be heard, helping you become familiar with their individual character and discover which bring you peace, clarity or a feeling of lightness. You can listen to samples before choosing, and the collection is yours to download and keep. It includes a user guide with listening ideas and optional reflection questions.

Train if You Want To Practice For readers who want to become a sound therapist, I recommend reading the books below alongside the research papers. Established authors and teachers often bring together cited research, clinical observations, case histories, practical exercises and years of experience. Reading their work in full makes it easier to understand the context of a claim, the method being described and the distinction between a measured finding and an author's interpretation. If you are considering working in this field, seek substantial training with experienced teachers. A starting point might be The British Academy of Sound Therapy, The Sound Healing Academy, The College of Sound Healing, and Simone Salvatici's Practitioner Training.

Much practical knowledge is shared through demonstration, supervised practice, case discussion and feedback, and may not be available online. This includes how to play and position instruments, manage sound intensity, adapt sessions, recognise when an approach is unsuitable and respond sensitively to physical or emotional experiences.

A useful training programme should also help you understand anatomy and physiology, consultation and consent, professional boundaries and how to evaluate research.

Ask how practical competence is assessed, what supervised experience is included and what support is available as you begin working with clients. Books and recordings can deepen your learning, while guided practice develops the judgement needed to work responsibly with other people.

References & Further Reading

Research Papers and Practitioner Reports

1. Scarratt, R. J., et al. (2025 online; 2026 journal issue). Individual differences in the effects of musical familiarity and musical features on brain activity during relaxation. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience. DOI: 10.3758/s13415-025-01342-9.

2. Goldsby, T. L., et al. (2017; online 2016). Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being: An Observational Study. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 22(3), 401–406. DOI: 10.1177/2156587216668109.

3. Landry, J. M. (2014). Physiological and Psychological Effects of a Himalayan Singing Bowl in Meditation Practice: A Quantitative Analysis. American Journal of Health Promotion, 28(5), 306–309. Randomised crossover study. DOI: 10.4278/ajhp.121031-ARB-528.

4. Cai, Y., et al. (2025). Therapeutic effects of singing bowls: A systematic review of clinical studies. Integrative Medicine Research, 14(2), 101144. DOI: 10.1016/j.imr.2025.101144.

5. Lin, F.-W., Yang, Y.-H., & Wang, J.-Y. (2025). Effects of Tibetan Singing Bowl Intervention on Psychological and Physiological Health in Adults: A Systematic Review. Healthcare, 13(16), 2002. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare13162002.

6. Weitzberg, E., & Lundberg, J. O. N. (2002). Humming Greatly Increases Nasal Nitric Oxide. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 166(2), 144–145. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.200202-138BC.

7. Kalyani, B. G., et al. (2011). Neurohemodynamic correlates of 'OM' chanting: A pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging study. International Journal of Yoga, 4(1), 3–6. DOI: 10.4103/0973-6131.78171.

8. Peper, E., et al. (2019). Which quiets the mind more quickly and increases HRV: Toning or mindfulness? NeuroRegulation, 6(3), 128–133. DOI: 10.15540/nr.6.3.128.

9. Vickhoff, B., et al. (2013). Music structure determines heart rate variability of singers. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 334. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00334.

10. Kreutz, G., et al. (2004). Effects of choir singing or listening on secretory immunoglobulin A, cortisol, and emotional state. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 27(6), 623–635. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-004-0006-9.

11. Fancourt, D., et al. (2016). Singing modulates mood, stress, cortisol, cytokine and neuropeptide activity in cancer patients and carers. ecancermedicalscience, 10, 631. DOI: 10.3332/ecancer.2016.631.

12. Coulton, S., et al. (2015). Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community singing on mental health-related quality of life of older people: randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Psychiatry, 207(3), 250–255. DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.113.129908.

13. Skingley, A., Martin, A., & Clift, S. (2016; online 2015). The Contribution of Community Singing Groups to the Well-Being of Older People: Participant Perspectives From the United Kingdom. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 35(12), 1302–1324. Qualitative study. DOI: 10.1177/0733464815577141.

14. Philip, K. E. J., et al. (2024). Singing for lung health in COPD: a multicentre randomised controlled trial of online delivery. BMJ Open Respiratory Research, 11, e002365. DOI: 10.1136/bmjresp-2024-002365.

15. Wells, J. Public practitioner accounts and discussion of her gong method. These are practitioner material, including discussion of a forthcoming book edition, rather than a controlled research paper. See Gong Consciousness below for the book itself.

16. Fancourt, D., et al. (2016). Effects of Group Drumming Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, Social Resilience and Inflammatory Immune Response among Mental Health Service Users. PLOS ONE, 11(3), e0151136. Non-randomised controlled study. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151136.

17. Gordon, Y., et al. (2026). Neural tracking at theta predicts drumming-induced altered states of consciousness. Scientific Reports, 16, 10204. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-37700-x.

18. Kantor, J., et al. (2022). Exploring vibroacoustic therapy in adults experiencing pain: a scoping review. BMJ Open, 12, e046591. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046591.

19. Jain, S., et al. (2023). Sound healing reduces generalized anxiety during the pandemic: A feasibility study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 74, 102947. Uncontrolled feasibility study of virtually delivered Biofield Tuning. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2023.102947.

20. Buxton, R. T., et al. (2021). A synthesis of health benefits of natural sounds and their distribution in national parks. PNAS, 118(14), e2013097118. Systematic review and meta-analysis, with a separate park soundscape analysis. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2013097118.

21. Zhu, R., et al. (2024). Effects of natural sound exposure on health recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Science of the Total Environment, 921, 171052. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171052.

22. Fan, L., & Baharum, M. R. (2024). The effect of exposure to natural sounds on stress reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Stress, 27(1), 2402519. DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2024.2402519.

23. Gould van Praag, C. D., et al. (2017). Mind-wandering and alterations to default mode network connectivity when listening to naturalistic versus artificial sounds. Scientific Reports, 7, 45273. DOI: 10.1038/srep45273.

24. Stobbe, E., et al. (2022). Birdsongs alleviate anxiety and paranoia in healthy participants. Scientific Reports, 12, 16414. Randomised online experiment. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20841-0.

25. Liu, J., et al. (2021). Soundscape Preference of Urban Residents in China in the Post-pandemic Era. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 750421. Preference survey. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750421.

26. Aravena, P. C., Almonacid, C., & Mancilla, M. I. (2020). Effect of music at 432 Hz and 440 Hz on dental anxiety and salivary cortisol levels in patients undergoing tooth extraction: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Applied Oral Science, 28, e20190601. DOI: 10.1590/1678-7757-2019-0601.

27. Park, J. M., & Tsai, L.-H. (2025). Innovations in noninvasive sensory stimulation treatments to combat Alzheimer's disease. PLOS Biology, 23(2), e3003046. Research essay discussing animal experiments and early clinical studies. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003046.

28. Ravikumar, H., & Sathyanarayanan, S. (2026). Effects of a Sound-Based Meditative Intervention on Anxiety, Depression, Salivary Cortisol Levels, and Blood Pressure: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Cureus, 18(9), e115693. Published 2 September 2026. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.115693.

29. British Academy of Sound Therapy (2024). Turning the Volume Down: A study of the BAST Method of Sound Therapy on chronic pain. Practitioner-led observational report.

Books and Practitioner Teachings

These sources explore research, clinical experience, practical methods and spiritual or energetic perspectives in different proportions. They are further reading rather than interchangeable evidence for every health claim in this article. Publication dates below refer to the editions identified.

• Ali, Farzana (2024 edition). Sound Healing: How to Use Sound to Beat Stress and Anxiety. Watkins. Research-informed discussion and practical listening, reflection and self-care activities. Book information.

• Ben-David, Githa (2022). The Ultimate Book on Vocal Sound Healing. O Books. Her approach to vocal sound, emotional patterns, sound scanning and spiritual experience. Publisher information.

• Conreaux, Don. Gong teachings and training materials exploring playing, meditation and gong consciousness. Gong Master Training.

• Gaynor, Mitchell L. (2002). The Healing Power of Sound: Recovery from Life-Threatening Illness Using Sound, Voice, and Music. Shambhala. A clinician's perspective, including breathing, meditation and toning exercises. Publisher information.

• Goldman, Jonathan (2022, 30th anniversary edition). Healing Sounds: The Power of Harmonics. Inner Traditions. Vocal harmonics, sound exercises, intention and spiritual traditions. Publisher information.

• Goldman, Jonathan, & Goldman, Andi (2017). The Humming Effect: Sound Healing for Health and Happiness. Healing Arts Press. Research discussion and practical conscious-humming exercises. Publisher information.

• Khan, Hazrat Inayat. The Mysticism of Sound and Music. Shambhala. Philosophical and spiritual teachings on sound and music; editions vary.

• McKusick, Eileen Day (2021, revised and updated edition; first published 2014). Tuning the Human Biofield: Healing with Vibrational Sound Therapy. Healing Arts Press. Her Biofield Tuning method, research discussion, case observations and energetic model. Publisher information.

• Wells, Jain (2018). Gong Consciousness: Self-Healing Through the Power of Sound. Choiceless Awareness Communications. Her experimental and practitioner exploration of gong work. ISBN: 9781775186021. The linked edition; current practitioner material.

• Wieder, June Leslie (2004). Song of the Spine. BookSurge. Bone toning, proposed spinal frequency correspondences, case histories and discussion of vibrational approaches. ISBN: 9781594574702.

• Whittaker, Sheila (2010). Sound Healing with Gongs: A Gong Book for Beginners. Healing Sound. Gong playing, relaxation, stress relief, sound and practitioner experience. Author's book page.