(NaturalHealth365)  In today’s world, stress comes in many shapes and sizes.  Daily responsibilities, relationship issues, financial difficulties, and health challenges all add to the toxic mix that can lead to a stressed-out mind and body.  The relationship between stress and ill health is a vicious, albeit common, cycle.

“If the body is in perfect balance, there isn’t much of a problem,” says Tsonwin Hai, professor of molecular and cellular biochemistry at Ohio State University.  “When the body gets stressed, that changes the immune system.  And the immune system is a double-edged sword.”

Understand why ignored chronic stress can be life-threatening

When the immune system becomes compromised due to stress, cancer cells, including breast cancer cells, can take hold, according to Hai, who was the senior author of an Ohio State University study that demonstrated how stress makes AFT3 immune cells malfunction.

In fact, there is increasing evidence that stress may specifically increase the risk of breast cancer as well as speed up the growth of breast cancer tumors.

The good news is that the opposite is also true: When you reduce your stress, immune function improves, and the risk of cancer can and often is reduced.  Of the hundreds of stress-reduction modalities out there, one of the most powerful (and also one of the lesser known) is sound therapy.

What is sound therapy, and how can it help me?

Sound therapy is based on the concept that all matter is composed of and therefore responds to certain frequencies of energy.

“In Chinese medicine, they call it qi; in India, prana – the life energy that comes in through the breath.  Chanting and sound work taps into and intensifies that energy, ” says the late Dr. Mitchel Gaynor, whose pioneering work in blending traditional oncology with alternative modalities was evidenced in numerous books, including The Healing Power of Sound.

The works of the late Dr. Masaru Emoto proved that sound vibrations can have an effect on water, which is significant since the human body is made up of 60 to 70% water.  New findings in physics based on string theory also prove that cells respond directly to vibration, i.e. sound, and it is now common knowledge that listening to pleasing sounds reduces cortisol and ACTH, both immune system-impairing stress hormones that have a negative effect on “natural killer cells.”

And, as we all know, natural killer cells normally combat the growth of cancer cells.

In fact, a study done through the Meadville Medical Center’s Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, Pennsylvania on 111 age-specific men and women found that the ancient practice of group drumming increased killer cell activity and increased dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)-to-cortisol ratios.  In addressing their findings in the publication Alternative Health Journal, the authors of the study stated that “drumming is a complex composite intervention with the potential to modulate specific neuroendocrine and neuro-immune parameters in a direction opposite to that expected with the classic stress response.”

What does science reveal about sound therapy?

Studies have indicated that sound therapy can influence brainwave activity, leading to states of deep relaxation and reduced stress.  Certain sound frequencies have been found to synchronize with brainwaves associated with meditation and relaxation, fostering a calming and centered mental state.

Moreover, sound therapy has demonstrated potential in addressing sleep disorders and improving sleep quality.  Certain frequencies and patterns of sounds can aid in inducing sleep and enhancing overall sleep duration.

Beyond mental well-being, scientific investigations have also explored the physical effects of sound therapy.  Vibrational frequencies emitted through sound therapy techniques can have resonance with different parts of the body, potentially promoting tissue regeneration and cellular healing.

One important principle behind sound therapy

Singing, working with tuning forks (such as in Accutonics), group drumming practice, and listening to soothing music can relax the mind, decompress stress, and produce other healing effects that modern medicine is just now beginning to discover.

According to the book Music Medicine by Christine Stevens, founder of UpBeat Drum Circles, both listening and playing music are evidence-based methods that not only reduce stress and enhance the immune system but also help build a sense of community that can lead to individual healing.

“At the most fundamental level,” says Dr. Gaynor, “it’s a matter of shifting your perspective, of looking in a new way at the events and patterns in your life that used to cause stress and fear.  I call it finding your ‘inner harmony’ or your ‘inner peace,’ – and that has real physiological effects.”

While more research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind sound therapy, scientific findings suggest that this approach holds promise as a complementary method for promoting relaxation, managing stress, improving sleep, and potentially supporting overall health and healing.

Sources for this article include:

NIH.gov
Medicalnewstoday.com
Medicalnewstoday.com
Masaru-emoto.net
NIH.gov
Nature.com
Cancertutor.com
Ubdrumcircles.com
BreastCancerConqueror.com