Impact of Himalayan Singing Bowls Meditation Session on Mood and Heart Rate Variability – An Observational Study

Summary & key facts

This small observational study checked mood and heart-rate measures before and after one 40-minute seated Himalayan singing bowl (HSB) sound-bath. After the session, 77 people reported higher positive affect and lower negative affect on the PANAS mood survey. A smaller group (17) filling the POMS survey reported less tension, anger, fatigue, depression and confusion, and more vigor and esteem-related feelings. Fifteen people wore an HRV sensor and showed lower heart rate and stress index and higher RMSSD (a heart-rate-variability measure linked to relaxation). The authors report these changes as statistically significant but note the study had no control group, used a single session, and had

Key facts:

• The session lasted 40 minutes and used seven Himalayan singing bowls plus one Ting-Sha; participants sat with eyes closed and focused on the sounds.
• Seventy-seven participants completed the PANAS mood survey before and 5 minutes after the session (PANAS N=77).
• Seventeen participants completed the abbreviated POMS mood survey before and after the session (POMS N=17).
• Fifteen participants had heart-rate-variability (HRV) recorded throughout the session using an EmWave Pro PPG ear sensor and Kubios HRV Premium for analysis (HRV N=15).
• After the session, participants showed increased Positive Affect and decreased Negative Affect on PANAS across the sample.
• POMS results showed reductions in tension, anger, fatigue, depression, and confusion, and increases in vigor and esteem-related affect after the session.
• HRV results showed a statistically significant reduction in heart rate and Stress Index, and a statistically significant increase in RMSSD after the session (analyzed with paired t-tests).
• This was an uncontrolled, observational study of a single session with volunteer participants at a wellness center, so the design cannot prove that the HSB session caused the changes and some groups (POMS and HRV) were small.

Abstract

Introduction Scientific evidence has demonstrated the psychological and physiological benefits of meditation. Sound vibrations also improve emotional wellbeing while enhancing the physiological parameters. There is an opportunity to explore the psychological and physiological benefits of Himalayan Singing Bowls (HSB) sound bath meditation, i.e. meditation assisted with sound vibrations. Aim of the Study The study explored changes in mood and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) parameters after a HSB Sound Bath Meditation on healthy individuals. The primary objectives of the study were to understand if a 40 minute long seated HSB Sound Bath Meditation results in significant improvement (a) in positive affect and negative affect, as measured by Positive And Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) and (b) in physiological parameters, as measured by Heart Rate Variability. The secondary objective of the study was to understand the impact on various moods as measured by Profile Of Mood States (POMS) Survey. Methods The psychological parameters included changes in Positive and Negative Affect (measured on 77 individuals using PANAS) and changes in specific, positive and negative moods (measured on 17 individuals using POMS) before and after the meditation session. The physiological parameters included HRV parameters such as Heart Rate (HR), Stress Index (SI) and Root Mean Square of Standard Deviation (RMSSD) measuring during the entire session on 15 individuals using the EmWave Pro device. HRV data analysis was conducted with Kubios HRV Premium and all the data was analyzed using paired T-Test. Results All the subjects after meditation showed statistically significant improvement in Positive Affect (mood) and a reduction in Negative Affect (mood). The HRV parameters showed a trend demonstrating overall relaxation with a statistically significant reduction in HR, Stress Index and an increase in RMSSD in the last 5 minutes as compared to the first 5 minutes. Consistent with changes in positive, negative mood and HRV, all the participants showed statistically significant reduction in tension, anger, fatigue, depression and confusion. In terms of positive mood, there was a statistically significant improvement in esteem related affect and an increase (but not statistically significant) in vigor. Conclusion The findings demonstrate that seated HSB Sound Bath Meditation session has a positive impact on the mood related measures. The physiological changes measured during the meditation using HRV parameters indicated a consistent reduction in Heart Rate throughout the meditation and a reduction in overall sympathetic tone and an increase in parasympathetic tone. Thus, HSB can be used to improve both psychological and physiological parameters even after one 40 min session. Future work in this area could explore comparison with a control group and a longer study duration consisting of multiple sessions.

Topics

Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions Sleep and related disorders

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Affect (linguistics) Audiology Blood pressure Clinical psychology Communication Economics Heart rate Heart rate variability Internal medicine Management Medicine Meditation Mood Philosophy Profile of mood states Psychology Singing Theology