Is there science behind singing bowls? Will it help you feel less tense?
The day is over. You are lying in bed, your body is tired, and your mind is still in a meeting.
Some people say a little singing bowl sound helps them slowly unwind. You might wonder: really?
The short answer: some studies show good signs, most consistently that people feel less worried and tense afterwards. There are not many studies yet, but so far the results lean in a good direction.
What did the studies see?
Researchers gathered 14 studies on singing bowls, published up to early 2025, into one report (Lin and colleagues, 2025). Five of them split people into two groups by chance, one group listening to a singing bowl and the other not, and then compared the groups.
- Feeling worried and tense (anxiety): the most consistent result. People who listened to a singing bowl scored lower on tension than people who did not. Studies that only compared before and after saw the same direction. The report rates its confidence in this result as moderate, the highest of all the results. (The higher the confidence, the less likely a new study is to overturn the answer.)
- Low mood: most studies leaned in a good direction, but one found no clear difference from the comparison group.
- Blood pressure, heartbeat and brainwaves: different studies saw different things, so it is too early to say.
- Safety: the authors say people accepted it well and no serious harm was found.
What we cannot tell yet
Each study had only 12 to 81 people, and everyone knew they were listening to a singing bowl. So we cannot yet tell whether the bowl made the difference, or whether simply resting quietly for a while did.
Either way, giving yourself some quiet time is never a loss.
Three minutes to try tonight
This is not what the studies did. It is just my invitation:
- Sit or lie down comfortably, open reCalm, and pick a singing bowl.
- Close your eyes, relax, and let yourself rest for a moment.
- If other thoughts come, that is fine. You do not need to chase them away.
Afterwards, notice whether your shoulders or your breathing feel even a little different. If not, that is fine too. You can try again tomorrow.
If you are struggling with poor sleep, anxiety or anything else that feels wrong, a singing bowl can be one part of how you look after yourself. Please let a doctor or other professional help you as well.
From my practice
This section is personal experience. It is not scientifically verified.
Many of the people who come back to my sessions already struggle with an out-of-balance autonomic nervous system (the part of the body that runs things like heartbeat and sleep automatically) or with sleeping badly. After a session, they feel better.
In my group sessions, people often fall into a deep sleep. Some wake up and say they do not remember that stretch of time at all, as if there were a gap.
Limits of this research
- This article rests mainly on the report by Lin and colleagues and uses only the basic facts from the report by Cai and colleagues. We did not re-read every original study.
- The studies were done in very different ways, so their results could not be added together; samples were small and follow-up was short.
- People know they are listening to a singing bowl, so a fair "blind" comparison is hard, and the studies compared against different things.
- The review included only peer-reviewed studies published in English, and did not check whether mostly good results get published.
- Mood results were mostly questionnaires that people filled in themselves, which are not a doctor's diagnosis.
- The review searched up to March 2025, so newer studies are not included.
Sources
- Lin FW, Yang YH, Wang JY. Effects of Tibetan Singing Bowl Intervention on Psychological and Physiological Health in Adults: A Systematic Review. Healthcare (Basel), 2025. doi:10.3390/healthcare13162002 · CC BY 4.0
- Cai Y, Yang G, Liu Y, Zou X, Yin H, Jin X, Liu X, Wang C, Robinson N, Liu J. Therapeutic effects of singing bowls: A systematic review of clinical studies. Integr Med Res, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.imr.2025.101144 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
If you would like to try it yourself, ten quiet minutes are waiting. Open reCalm
This article is a general introduction to research. It is not medical advice and does not replace care from a health professional.