What Is Sound Therapy?
Imagine you’re driving home down US1 at rush hour after you’ve had a bad day. Traffic is at a standstill, and you’re assaulted by a cacophony of honks. The tension around you only adds to your already bad day. To drown out the noise of traffic and your mind repeating the events day, you turn on the radio. It’s your favorite song. You hum to yourself a bit, but then the chorus hits. You lean your head back, close your eyes, and belt out the words, forgetting all about your day.
One of our singing bowls
It’s no secret that your favorite song has the power to completely turn your mood around. Music is powerful. It makes us laugh. It makes us cry. It’s the fabric of some of our best and worst memories. But what about sound? Is it possible for just a simple sound—the ring of a bell or the low drone of a cymbal—to soothe our minds and ease our stress?
Sound therapy has been used for thousands of years by indigenous communities to heal physical injuries, ease stress, and induce a state of relaxation. Tamara Goldsby, a research psychologist in the department of family medicine and public health at the University of California, San Diego says sound therapy works on the basis of vibrations. Because your brain works with vibrations, hearing sound from both ears has an effect on the brain oscillation vibration.
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So, essentially the vibrations from a singing bowl could affect the frequency at which the cells in your brain oscillate. It sounds a little far out, but when you consider the large body of research that’s been conducted on sound therapy, the idea seems a little more plausible.
A neurological study published in 2017 found that a 30-minute music therapy session in conjunction with traditional care after spinal surgery reduced pain more than just the traditional post-surgery care. The Nordoff-Robbins sound healing method has also been used to treat autism spectrum disorder and dementia as well as aid in other mental health disorders.
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And binaural beats have been found to induce a state of relaxation and decrease anxiety by encouraging brain waves to match the frequency of the beat.
To achieve the benefits of sound therapy, look for sound healing classes or sound baths in your area. Miami has a few sound therapy events occurring every month near Miami Beach, but if you can’t make it all the way to the beach, then invest in your own sound healing tools. It’s hard for me to get out and attend a sound class with my schedule, but I love doing 15 minutes of meditation every day with my own singing bowl. Also, experiment with different sounds and different frequencies to see what works best for you.
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