3 Benefits of Voice Therapy for Mental and Physical Health

Illustration (Pexels/Antoni Shkraba)

YOGYAKARTA - Our lives are never free from sound. From waking up to going back to rest, our ears continue to capture various sounds, ranging from the roar of vehicles on the road to the buzzing of electronic devices at home. Without realizing it, all those sounds also affect our feelings, stress levels, and even our ability to focus.

Lately, many people have started to use it intentionally as a means of therapy to support mental and physical health. Sound therapy is also increasingly popular because it is considered able to help the body and mind enter a deeper state of relaxation.

What is Voice Therapy?

Reported by UCLA Health, sound therapy is a form of complementary therapy that uses certain tones, frequencies, and vibrations to help the body relax and recover. Unlike music therapy which involves songs or lyrics, sound therapy emphasizes the effects of the sound waves themselves. The main focus is on how frequencies affect the brain and the body's response.

One type that is quite well known is binaural beats. This method plays two different frequencies in each ear. When the two tones meet, they create a perceived third frequency that can affect brain activity.

In addition, there is also a sound bath or sound bath that uses instruments such as metal bowls and bells. The sounds and vibrations produced by the instruments can produce a meditative state.

Another type is vibroacoustic therapy which provides low-frequency sounds and physical vibrations through chairs and mattresses. The vibrations can be applied to the chest. This therapy can relax muscles, reduce pain, and improve circulation.

Sound therapy relies on the sound you hear with your ears. But as the vibrations travel, your body also benefits from the sound waves it receives through the skin. Experts believe that both sound and vibration may have potential health benefits.

3 Benefits of Voice Therapy

Research on the benefits of sound therapy is still limited on a small scale. More data is needed to conclude that sound therapy has reliable health benefits. However, most experts agree that research shows that sound therapy may have some significant health benefits, including the following:

Improve Mood and Reduce Stress

Voice therapy tends to produce a state of relaxation that can reduce stress and anxiety. Certain frequency sounds help the body enter a relaxed state and calm the nervous system. As a result, heart rate and blood pressure can naturally decrease.

In one study, participants saw significant effects after only one session of voice therapy. Most of the 62 participants reported feeling calmer as well as experiencing a reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms. However, there is no data on how long these feelings of change last.

Improve Cognitive Function

In addition to affecting emotions, sound therapy is also associated with improved cognitive function. A review of more than 20 studies showed that binaural beats can help improve focus and memory, when used before or while performing a task. However, the results depend heavily on the frequency and duration of exposure to the sound.

Another small study found that exposure to binaural beats for 10 minutes every day can significantly improve cognitive processing speed. Consistency is the key to feeling the benefits.

Although the findings of the study still vary, experts see great potential for sound therapy in this field. Further research is being conducted to find the most effective frequencies.

Helps Relieve Pain

Voice therapy and other forms of meditation are thought to reduce pain perception by relaxing the body and affecting stress hormones that can often worsen pain. In addition, research shows that whole-body vibration can also affect chronic pain.

In fibromyalgia patients, vibroacoustic therapy for several weeks was shown to reduce pain intensity and improve quality of life. Participants also reported improvements in daily motor function. However, these benefits were not seen three months later, suggesting that people with fibromyalgia may need ongoing sound therapy to maintain their benefits.

Another study showed that therapeutic vibration was able to reduce pain in the legs and lower back for several hours. These findings suggest that vibration may be a supportive alternative in reducing pain, although further research is still needed to confirm its effectiveness.

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