The Effects of Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl Music and Guided Relaxation on Mood and Sleep in Rangatahi (Young Adults)

NCT07267520 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: HREC(Health)2024#3
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 108
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The number of people reporting poor mental wellbeing is increasing, with rates exceeding 25% of the population. Rates of psychological distress in young people (aged 15-24 years) are rapidly increasing but many cannot access professional help. Self-help options such as meditation and mindfulness are effective in decreasing stress and enhancing mood, but time, practice, self-motivation and patience are required to fully realise the benefits. Thus, there is a need to explore alternate treatment options. This study seeks to determine if the effects of listening to quartz crystal singing bowl music (CSBs) are equivalent to that of progressive guided muscle relaxation on self-report measures of mood, stress and sleep in young adults at 4- and 8- weeks post intervention. The intervention will be delivered online. The main question it aims to answer is: Are the effects of listening to singing bowl music equivalent to that of progressive guided muscle relaxation (PMR) on self-report measures of mood in young adults (Total Mood Disturbance of the POMS) at 4- and 8- weeks post intervention. Does listening to singing bowls result in improved sleep and stress, similar to the effects of PMR. Participants will be allocated to either the singing bowls or progressive muscle relaxation group. They will be sent a link to listen to the intervention 3 times a week for the first 4 weeks, and then weekly for the next 4 weeks. They will be asked to compete an online questionnaire at baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks. At the end of the trial (8 weeks), participants will be given access to both singing bowls and progressive muscle relaxation interventions to use as often as they like.

Conditions

Healthy Young Adults

Keywords

Mood; Crystal singing bowls; Progressive muscle relaxation; online intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in total mood disturbance (TMD) score between baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks

  The TMD is derived from the profile of mood states questionnaire (abbreviated version). Participants are presented with a list of 40 words that describe feelings people have. They are asked to circle the number that best describes how they feel right now from 0 (not at all), 1 (a little), 2 (moderately), 3 (quite a lot) to 4 (extremely). Seven subscales are calculated by summing the relevant items (Tension, Anger, ERA-score range 0-24; Fatigue, Vigour, Confusion- score range 0-20; Depression - score range 0-28 ). A Total Mood Disturbance score (TMD) is also calculated by summing the totals for the negative subscales (Tension, Depression, Anger, Fatigue, Confusion), and subtracting the totals for the positive scales (Vigour, Esteem-related Affect). A constant (100) can be added to eliminate negative values. Scores (including the constant) range from 52-216. A higher score reflects a more negative mood state

  Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks

• Change in total mood disturbance (TMD) score between baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks

  The TMD is derived from the profile of mood states questionnaire (abbreviated version). Participants are presented with a list of 40 words that describe feelings people have. They are asked to circle the number that best describes how they feel right now from 0 (not at all), 1 (a little), 2 (moderately), 3 (quite a lot) to 4 (extremely). Seven subscales are calculated by summing the relevant items (Tension, Anger, Fatigue, Depression, Esteem related affect, Vigour and Confusion). A Total Mood Disturbance score (TMD) is also calculated by summing the totals for the negative subscales (Tension, Depression, Anger, Fatigue, Confusion), and subtracting the totals for the positive scales (Vigour, Esteem-related Affect \[Note that 2 items are reverse scored for the ERA subscale\]. A higher score reflects a more negative mood state

  Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in POMS subscale scores at 4 and 8 weeks

  Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks

• Overall sleep quality

  Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks

• Visual analogues scales - immediately before and after a session

  Once a week for 8 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Quartz Crystal Singing Bowls music

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl music

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Behavioral: Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Interventions

Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl music BEHAVIORAL

The quartz crystal singing bowls audio track used in the current study was "Tranquility" by Annie Jameson. The audio track was 570 seconds (9.5 minutes) for all sessions. Annie Jameson composed the track herself and gave permission for its use. The full Tranquility track can be found on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mX3Vqvo5k4) or Spotify. The audio was accessed online via the Qualtrics platform

Quartz Crystal Singing Bowls music

Progressive Muscle Relaxation BEHAVIORAL

A guided progressive muscle relaxation audio (recorded by the NZ Cancer Society https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zydrp3rfJdY) and similar to the PMR script from the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne was used. The session took approximately 12 minutes. Participants were instructed to start by sitting or lying comfortably, taking some deep breaths and then tense and relax muscles in a sequential manner from the head to the feet. The audio was presented online via Qualtrics software

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 16 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• age 16-25 years

You may not qualify if:

• undergoing psychiatric/psychological treatment
• participation in guided relaxation more than once a month
• listened to singing bowls more than once a month

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Waikato: lead
• University of Auckland, New Zealand: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

School of Psychological and Social Sciences

Hamilton, Waikato Region, 3204, New Zealand

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Goldsby TL, Goldsby ME, McWalters M, Mills PJ. Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being: An Observational Study. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2017 Jul;22(3):401-406. doi: 10.1177/2156587216668109. Epub 2016 Sep 30.

  PMID: 27694559 BACKGROUND

• Matthews A, Phillips MC, Matthews LR, Kumar S, Pillai A, Jameson MB. A Pilot Study Evaluating the Effects of Relaxation Music Played on Quartz Crystal Singing Bowls on Mood in Teenage Males. J Psychiatry Behav Sci. 2023;6(2):1085

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Autogenic Training

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Hypnosis; Mind-Body Therapies; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Officials

• Nicola J Starkey, Starkey

  University of Waikato

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Michael Jameson

  University of Auckland, New Zealand

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor of Psychology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 24, 2025
• First Posted: December 5, 2025
• Study Start: March 22, 2024
• Primary Completion: October 11, 2024
• Study Completion: December 31, 2024
• Last Updated: December 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF
• Time Frame: Beginning 3 months after publication with no end date
• Access Criteria: Data can be obtained by emailing the PI with a proposal for planned analyses. The request will be reviewed by the co-PIs.

Locations

NZ (1)