Studies on the effects of vibroacoustic therapy on cognitive and physiological stress have traditionally relied on subjective measures, such as PSS-10. This research extends knowledge by exploring VSM’s effects on biosignals that do not require behavioural manifestation.
RMSSD and HF were utilized as metrics of parasympathetic activity; participants with low PSS-10 scores experienced improved “rest and digest” responses with VSM use.
Physiological
Vibration is essential to human life, determining everything from heart contractions and nerve impulses to the resonant frequencies of groups of cells. Humans possess a natural propensity to synch with external vibrations, perceiving them as touch – known as haptic reception of sound – one reason that 40Hz frequency sounds can have such beneficial physiological effects as decreasing stress perception and relaxing muscles.
Music and vibration have long been recognized for their ability to affect our emotions, which VAT leverages by using soothing sounds and vibration to promote relaxation and wellbeing. VAT may help alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety while simultaneously encouraging inner peace and self-healing.
Vibroacoustic therapy was invented by Norwegian therapist Olav Skille and Finnish music therapist Petri Lehikoinen in the 1980s as a form of music therapy that uses simultaneous tactile and sonic stimulation. VAT utilizes special equipment like beds, chairs, pillows, or sound mats which users lie upon for treatment; using low frequency sinusoidal waveforms within hearing range to produce the sensation of vibrational sound waves for effective therapeutic results.
Studies investigating VAT’s effects on pain relief have yielded mixed findings. Some have concluded that VAT has no discernable effect, while others report significant success relieving chronic back and headache pain. Studies with multimodal interventions featuring both sonic and tactile vibrations are considered optimal protocols.
At a time of increased social and technological pressures, social dissatisfaction, and increasing mental health diagnoses, tools to relieve stress and enhance vagal tone are becoming more in demand. VAT could provide a noninvasive alternative to vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) treatments such as electrical neuromodulation requiring medical implants for relief.
Current research explores the effects of sonic and tactile vibrations on perceived stress levels using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10). This questionnaire has been extensively utilized in psychological stress studies as a measure to document changes in participants’ perceptions of their stress before and after interventions have taken place.
Psychological
Vibroacoustic Therapy (VAT) is an integrative healing approach using sound and vibration to promote physical, emotional and mental wellness. VAT’s soothing music and low frequency vibration stimulate the body’s natural healing response for relaxation, stress reduction, pain relief, better sleep quality and an enhanced sense of well-being. People around the world have long used vibrations and sounds for healing on spiritual, mental and physical planes for centuries – now you too can use vibrations and sounds for spiritual, mental and physical well-being!
Vibrating the body with therapeutic vibrations combined with music listening can create a state of deep relaxation reminiscent of meditation, helping reduce cortisol levels, lower anxiety and stress levels, enhance immunity for improved health benefits as well as release endorphins (natural painkillers produced by your body), increase blood circulation to manage musculoskeletal pain more efficiently and manage chronic issues more easily. VAT promotes this state of inner calm by helping reduce cortisol levels, lower anxiety levels, enhance immune system performance and lower anxiety and stress while increasing endorphin production and increasing blood circulation to manage musculoskeletal pain effectively.
This research adopted a mixed methods approach and measured participants’ responses using a self-report questionnaire called the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), both pre and post vibroacoustic stimulation. The PSS-10 measures subjective perceptions of stress by providing insight into how individuals view various stresses they’re currently experiencing in life.
Combining therapeutic music and low frequency vibrations stimulates a state of brainwave entrainment where rhythms from sensory input synchronize together to produce a state known as flow and mindfulness, helping reduce mind wandering during vibroacoustic sessions. Previous research has demonstrated this is essential, since when minds wander during such sessions the effect is diminished considerably – further stressing out minds is in turn reduced as is their effectiveness at providing a relaxing and soothing environment.
Cognitive
Use of a bed-like device equipped with transducers that produce low-frequency vibrations synced to soothing music or soundscapes promotes an immersive sonic vibration experience for users. These vibrations interact with chakras within the body to promote balance and vitality – with physical benefits as well as numerous psychological and emotional advantages of holistic wellness in mind.
Vibration is an integral component of human existence, from heartbeats and nerve impulses to biological tissues and organs having their own resonance frequencies. Human neural networks synchronise at specific frequencies such as the gamma range which facilitates neural binding and integration crucial for cognition (Kong et al, 2025). Integrating vibroacoustic therapy may activate mechanosensitive ion channels within the brain that modulate these oscillations and enhance memory processing by increasing neural coherence (Ribary et al, 1991).
Research also indicates that cognitive stress levels decrease during a VSM session. This is an important finding as physiological stress is one of the leading causes of depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders as well as cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure and heart attacks.
This study is noteworthy because its researchers used an electroencephalogram to monitor changes in brainwaves during a VSM session – an invaluable way of measuring physiological and psychological stress levels, while pinpointing specific brainwave patterns associated with emotional states for more accurate interpretation of results.
Participants were divided into two groups during this experiment: one using only vibration devices and another with vibration-plus-music devices that differed only by frequency settings to ensure participants could not distinguish between interventions. Data showed that cognitive stress reduction experienced during VSM sessions was associated with reduced TBR activity and an increase in concentration or focus, suggesting reduced states of mind-wandering and an improvement in concentration or focus.
Regular sessions of vibroacoustic therapy (VAT) foster an intimate bond between mind and body, helping promote a healthy lifestyle with reduced pain and improved mood. VAT offers many other advantages as well.
Social
Vibroacoustic sound modulation (VSM) has long been recognised for its soothing effects, and may help to decrease physiological stress hormones that contribute to depression, anxiety, insomnia and other mental health conditions. VSM appears to reduce stress through dampening sympathetic nervous system response to psychological stressors while increasing parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) responses – thus providing significant therapeutic benefit across medical fields. The use of vibrational music as well as sound stimuli for mitigating physiological stress levels remains of considerable interest today.
Researchers have only conducted limited research into the effects of VAT on children with autism spectrum disorder; but their results are positive. A pilot study with this population demonstrated that VAT improved attention and emotion regulation in these individuals.
Future studies should employ control and placebo groups in order to isolate the impact of VAT from other variables, while exploring various frequencies, soundscapes, vibration levels, etc. in order to find optimal parameters for treatment. Lastly, questionnaires or first-person accounts could help develop further insight into subjective experiences with VAT therapy.
Patients with spinal cord and brain injuries have reported significant reductions in spasticity and pain as well as improvements in self-perceived health conditions after being exposed to music vibration therapy. Trials conducted so far used 40 Hz frequencies; further investigation will need to be performed on optimal frequencies and length of stimulation stimulations to achieve maximum therapeutic benefits.
Developmental/attachment trauma is known to interfere with a child’s self-regulation skills and feelings of safety, leading to defensive reactions such as fight, flight, freeze or total submission. Utilizing VSM with children affected by developmental/attachment trauma has proven successful at alleviating symptoms related to physiological stress and parasympathetic imbalance and may assist with developing bodily-based safety in these situations.
