When you feel tense: singing bowl or muscle relaxation?
One minute before a meeting, your heart is racing and your palms are a little damp.
What do you do to help yourself settle?
Some people listen to a singing bowl. Others try muscle relaxation: tighten your muscles hard, then let go all at once. Which one helps more? In 2023, an experiment in Chile compared them.
The short answer: in this small experiment, both methods left tense people feeling less tense, and the singing bowl lowered tension the most. But only 50 people took part, and the difference between the two is not certain.
How was the experiment done?
The researchers found 50 adults who felt fairly tense (not diagnosed with an anxiety disorder) and split them into three groups by chance:
- Singing bowl group: a music therapist played the bowls live.
- Muscle relaxation group: they listened to a recording that guided them from feet to head, tightening and then letting go.
- Waiting group: they did nothing and just sat quietly.
Everyone sat in a comfortable armchair with their eyes closed for about 50 minutes. They filled in a tension questionnaire before and after, and the researchers also measured the heartbeat and brainwaves.
What did the study see?
- Feeling tense: tension scores dropped more in the singing bowl group and the muscle relaxation group than in the waiting group, and the singing bowl group dropped the most. The authors also point out that the singing bowl group's score afterwards was below the line the questionnaire often uses to flag possibly significant anxiety. But the paper does not clearly say whether the difference between the singing bowl group and the muscle relaxation group was big enough to count.
- The body: the devices showed that changes in the heartbeat from moment to moment increased more in the singing bowl group than in the other two, which suggests a more relaxed body.
- What the researchers noticed: at the end, people in the singing bowl group looked calmer and sleepier.
What we cannot tell yet
Only 50 people took part, mostly young people and university students. There was one session only, so we do not know how long the effect lasts. And the singing bowl group had a person playing live while the muscle relaxation group listened to a recording, so the two were not exactly alike.
A fair summary: the singing bowl showed signs of helping people relax that were at least as good as muscle relaxation. Which is better needs more research.
Three minutes to try tonight
This is not what the study did. It is just my invitation. Try both and see which suits you:
- Squeeze your fists tight for 5 seconds, then slowly let go and feel your hands soften.
- Open reCalm, pick a singing bowl, close your eyes and let yourself rest for a moment.
- Notice which one felt better, and use it the next time you feel tense.
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.
Limits of this research
- Only 50 people took part, with an average age of about 26 and 60% university students; they scored high on a tension questionnaire but were not diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
- There was one session of about 50 minutes, no follow-up to see how long the effect lasts, and no 10-minute version.
- The singing bowl group had a person playing the bowls live, while the muscle relaxation group listened to a recording, which may also matter.
- Tension was measured with a questionnaire people filled in themselves. The paper says "single-blind" but does not say who was blinded.
- The paper does not clearly say whether the difference between the singing bowl and muscle relaxation groups was statistically clear.
- The paper does not mention whether anyone felt unwell.
- Scientists do not yet agree on what the brainwave changes mean.
Sources
- Rio-Alamos C, Montefusco-Siegmund R, Cañete T, Sotomayor J, Fernandez-Teruel A. Acute Relaxation Response Induced by Tibetan Singing Bowl Sounds: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ, 2023. doi:10.3390/ejihpe13020024 · CC BY 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.