ArticleJMIR mental health2025
Effects of Sound Interventions on the Mental Stress Response in Adults: Scoping Review.
Article in JMIR mental health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07364799 (Effectiveness of the SoundHeal), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effectiveness of the SoundHeal (Heal) Multi-Sensory Integrative Therapy in Enhancing Emotional Regulation Among Justice-Involved Youth and Its Effect on Therapeutic Alliance and Mental Health Outcomes
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The effectiveness of music interventions on psychological, physiological and academic outcomes in health sciences students: a meta-analysis.BMC medical education · 2026Pooled it
- Emotional Response to Pleasant Sounds Plays a Role in the Effectiveness of the Positive Focus Intervention.Trends in hearingTrial
- Prenatal road traffic noise impairs early testicular development in Sprague-Dawley offspring: pharmacological rescue by melatonin and edaravone; developmental preservation by environmental enrichment.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Exploratory Listening Through Background Music: Psychological Predictors of Everyday Use.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Sensory Deprivation and the Brain: Neurobiological Mechanisms, Psychological Effects, and Clinical Implications.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Are attitudes toward music therapy associated with lower social anxiety in university students? The roles of emotion regulation and psychological flexibility.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Mitigating the adverse effects of urban environmental stress on individuals through piano performance with a natural theme: a case study from biophilia to soundscape healing.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Psychophysiological effects of low-frequency sound mediated by room size, room shape, and stimulus duration.Frontiers in cognition · 2026Article
- A taxonomic framework of music-based intervention components to guide research: recommendations from the NIH U24 music research networks.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Resonance across cultures and faiths: examining the violin music's role in emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being for sustainable societies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Paralanguage as a tool for shaping stress response in Listeners: Multimodal physiological sensing study.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Music Therapy on Noise-Induced Perceived Stress and Anxiety Among University Students.Noise & healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis scoping review examines the effects of various sound interventions, including music, natural sounds, and speech, on the stress response in adults.
objectiveThe review aims to identify key therapeutic factors, including sound type, individual listener characteristics, and environmental influences. It also synthesizes evidence on physiological responses to sound interventions and highlights current research gaps.
methodsWe conducted a comprehensive search using databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO, focusing on studies from 1990 to 2024. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, and laboratory experiments that measured stress through physiological markers (eg, heart rate variability and cortisol) and self-reports. A total of 34 studies were included, and thematic analysis was conducted to identify recurring themes in the findings.
resultsThe findings suggest that music, especially classical and self-selected pieces, effectively reduces physiological stress markers, including cortisol levels, heart rate variability, and blood pressure. Nonmusical sounds, such as nature sounds and calming voices, also demonstrate potential for stress relief, although research in this area remains limited. While most sound interventions showed positive effects, some studies reported adverse effects, indicating that sound can both alleviate and induce stress. The outcomes were substantially affected by contextual factors such as personal preferences, delivery methods, cultural context, and emphasizing the importance of personalized interventions.
conclusionsSound interventions offer promising, noninvasive methods for stress reduction. This review suggests that future research should address gaps in the study of nonmusical sound interventions and further investigate the neural mechanisms underlying stress responses to sound. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/54030.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.