Sound Healing: More Than Just Woo-Woo?
A little science, a little woo-woo… and somewhere in between is where I find most interesting. ✨
I love the spiritual, mystical side of sound. But I also love discovering that some of what we feel during a sound bath can actually be measured.
A recent systematic review looked at 19 clinical studies across 8 countries, including 9 randomized trials. Researchers have measured changes in heart rate, brain activity, HRV, anxiety, sleep and more.
So yes — there’s some data behind that ahhh… feeling too. 😉
Across different studies, heart rate, certain brain-wave activity and anxiety all showed significant decreases after a single singing-bowl session.
But honestly, the part that fascinates me most is what happens beyond what we can easily measure.
When the noise gets quieter… the signal gets amplified.
After sound, I often feel like someone has turned down the volume inside my head — while somehow turning up everything around me.
Colours can seem more vivid. My senses feel sharper. My perspective feels wider.
You might walk down exactly the same street you walk every day and suddenly notice something you’ve never noticed before.
A word on a wall.
A picture.
A conversation.
A strange coincidence.
Something that suddenly feels meaningful.
Was it always there?
Probably.
Maybe you simply became quiet enough to notice it.
And this is one of the things that opened my curiosity toward the subconscious mind, dreams and how much information we normally filter out while our conscious mind is busy thinking, planning and doing.
And this is where it gets really interesting… ✨
During sound — or sometimes afterwards — you might also have a completely unexpected image, scene, word or feeling suddenly appear in your mind. And there’s a word for it:
Hypnagogia is that dream-like space between awake and asleep.
Almost like the edge of a lucid dream — you’re still aware, but already drifting somewhere else as images, sensations and thoughts begin to appear.
I’ve experienced this multiple times.
Sometimes an image comes into my mind that I have zero clue where it came from.
Once, during sound, I suddenly saw what looked like an entire universe exploding into existence.
I definitely wasn’t thinking about the universe beforehand. 😂
And other times, the interesting part comes after the sound — something I see physically while walking outside, an image, a sign, a sentence or a tiny detail that suddenly catches my attention in a completely different way.
And I find myself asking:
Why did I notice that? Why now?
I genuinely don’t know.
Maybe it’s simply attention working differently after becoming deeply relaxed.
Maybe something from the subconscious is surfacing.
Maybe it’s imagination or intuition.
Or, if you also enjoy the woo-woo side like I do, maybe you call it a little download from the universe. ✨
I don't feel the need to decide which explanation is “the one.”
I prefer staying curious ;)
The subconscious mind.
And that curiosity is actually part of what led me deeper into hypnosis, the subconscious mind, dreams and all those strange layers of ourselves that we don't normally hear when our everyday mind is making so much noise.
Some science. Some mystery. Both can exist. 🤍
I don't think we need science to explain every meaningful experience we have.
But I also don't think we need to reject science in order to leave room for a little mystery.
Research can measure some of what happens to the brain and body during sound.
Our own experience tells us another part of the story.
And perhaps there will always be a little space in between that we don't completely understand yet.
I quite like that space. ✨
Want to run your own little experiment? 👀
Have you tried a sound bath before?
Next time, instead of immediately deciding whether it worked, just notice.
What became quieter?
What became clearer?
Did an unexpected image or idea appear?
What suddenly caught your attention afterwards?
Maybe even take the same street home and see what you notice.
Some shifts are measurable. Some magic is simply felt. ✨
Come experience it for yourself sometime — and tell me what you notice. ;) 🤍
Join next beach sound experience here✨
A little research behind this note
Walter N. & Hinterberger T. (2022), Neurophysiological Effects of a Singing Bowl Massage.
Río-Álamos C. et al. (2023), Acute Relaxation Response Induced by Tibetan Singing Bowl Sounds: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Cai et al. (2025), Therapeutic Effects of Singing Bowls: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies.
