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I, for one, am partial to a bath: what\u2019s not to love about a dim room, candles and nary an electronic device in sight?<\/p>\n
But a wellness trend that has emerged in recent years makes soaking in tepid water seem quaint: increasingly, people are paying to be \u201cbathed\u201d in sound.<\/p>\n
Social media is awash with clips of sound baths, where participants \u2013 for a fee \u2013 lie on yoga mats, hang in cocoons or float on inflatable pool loungers while berobed practitioners gently ring chimes and bang gongs for relaxation.<\/p>\n
Online interest in these experiences has risen exponentially in the last decade. Some are available outside in places like Sydney Harbour, where you can be \u201crocked gently by the tide\u201d while blindfolded. High-end wellness clubs, meanwhile, boast of surround-sound chambers complete with subwoofers.<\/p>\n
The purpose, according to the marketing copy for such classes, is to \u201csoothe and calm your nervous system\u201d with sounds that will \u201cpenetrate every cell in your body\u201d, while specific frequencies are purported to promote \u201chealing\u201d.<\/p>\n
Singing bowls \u2013 metal or crystal bells that produce a shimmering timbre when struck or brushed \u2013 produce \u201ccosmic sound\u201d claimed to improve \u201cchronic symptoms like pain, fatigue, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm\u201d. But do any of these claims ring true?<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a rich field of music psychology that\u2019s all about the impacts of different types of sounds on human psychology and human physiology,\u201d says Dr Vince Polito, a senior lecturer in the school of psychological sciences at Macquarie University.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s plausible that sound baths can affect mood, he says.<\/p>\n
In a 2016 study, people who participated in a meditation session involving Tibetan singing bowls reported feeling less tension, anger and fatigue afterwards. The study was an observational one, without a control group, which means it is at risk of bias and can\u2019t establish causation. Another study, a randomised controlled trial in breast cancer patients, linked Tibetan sound meditation to improved cognitive function and mental health.<\/p>\n
Mindfulness meditation itself has been linked to improvements in anxiety, depression and insomnia.<\/p>\n
<\/span>\u2018It\u2019s not so much the music itself in this process as \u2026 focusing your attention on one thing, and trying to quiet the mind,\u2019 says Dr Sandra Garrido.<\/span> Photograph: microgen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The effects of sound or music on wellbeing largely relates to how we perceive and interpret those sounds, rather than specific types or frequencies, according to Dr Sandra Garrido, a senior research fellow at the University of Sydney\u2019s school of psychology.<\/p>\n \u201cLike anything in the wellness space, its benefits can definitely be talked up,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Research suggests that our breathing can synchronise without conscious effort to beats we hear \u2013 a phenomenon known as \u201crhythmic entrainment\u201d \u2013 and that music can induce different emotions such as happiness, sadness and fear.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why we might prefer slower, calmer music for relaxation, Garrido points out. \u201cA lot of meditation-type music focuses on long tones and not too much in the way of melody or rhythmic patterns that could end up being distracting,\u201d she says, citing the ringing tones of Tibetan singing bowls as an example.<\/p>\n But, she adds: \u201cIt\u2019s not so much the music itself in this process as \u2026 focusing your attention on one thing, and trying to quiet the mind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAny kind of music that you are focusing on can be a meditative experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Garrido says people often \u201cwant something that has this mystical connotation to it\u201d. Of sound baths, she says: \u201cIt can be helpful as part of a general wellbeing practice, but it\u2019s not this miracle cure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are long histories of using music and sound in therapeutic ways,\u201d says Dr Amanda Krause, a senior lecturer in psychology at James Cook University and the president of the Australian Music and Psychology Society.<\/p>\n Both listening to and producing music have been linked to more than 500 benefits, she says, including promoting social, cognitive, physical and emotional wellbeing.<\/p>\n This research forms the basis of music therapy, in which music listening or production is used to improve psychological and physical health.<\/p>\n \u201cMusic therapists are registered in their profession [in Australia],\u201d Krause says. Music therapists work with a range of clients, including in schools and hospitals. There is no single equivalent regulatory body for sound bath practitioners.<\/p>\n \u201cSo often, most of the music listening that we\u2019re doing is accompanying something else,\u201d Krause says. \u201cMaybe we are exercising or commuting to work or working.\u201d<\/p>\n Focused music listening is linked to wellbeing benefits, she says. \u201cPeople can really use that music listening to amplify emotional responses, and often it might be quite a journey.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might not just be a very happy, positive listening experience, but we can see a catharsis through an emotional journey from the listening.\u201d<\/p>\n Garrido says that communally listening to music in the experience of a sound bath can be a \u201chelpful, healthy thing\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHistorically, throughout most of human history \u2026 music has been about social connection,\u201d Garrido says. \u201cIt\u2019s only in the last 100 years or so that we\u2019ve had the capacity to go home and listen to music on our own in an isolating kind of way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been to them myself,\u201d Garrido says, of sound baths. \u201cI enjoy them, they can be relaxing, it\u2019s a nice experience \u2013 but I wouldn\u2019t pay too much money for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Donna Lu is an assistant editor, climate, environment and science at Guardian Australia<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Antiviral is a fortnightly column that interrogates the evidence behind the health headlines and factchecks popular wellness claims<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Ask Antiviral<\/p>\n What health trend\u00a0do you want examined?<\/p>\n Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For alternative ways to get in touch securely please see our tips guide.<\/span>Show moreA \u2018nice\u2019 experience or music therapy?<\/h2>\n
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Share your experience<\/h4>\n