Key result
Low frequency sound vibration plus music improves HRV vs music alone, reflecting increased parasympathetic activity.
Why the study?
There is a lack of research on the effect of low frequency sound vibration combined with music listening on acute stress response, especially with objective measurements.
Does low frequency sound vibration improve acute stress response in university students?
RCT (n=54)
Double-blind
Equal blocked randomization (block size eight) with stratification according to sex
No
Does low frequency sound vibration improve acute stress response in university students?
p-value: p=0.02
Low frequency sound vibration may improve acute stress response, as measured by heart rate variability, in university students.
LFS improved select HRV markers vs control in this pilot; leaves open clinical utility pending larger multimodal RCTs.
Background: Low frequency sound (LFS, combined with music listening) is applied by practitioners in vibroacoustic therapy who report a positive effect of this intervention on acute stress response. However, there is a lack of research on this topic and studies with mainly objective measurements are scarce. Materials and methods: In this pilot double-blinded Randomized Controlled Trial we used a multimodal approach to measurement of acute stress response in 54 international university students attending a university summer school in Olomouc, the Czech Republic who were individually randomized into a group receiving LFS vibration and a control group. In both groups, the acute stress response was measured by heart rate variability (HRV), visual analogue scales (VAS) for stress and muscle relaxation. Results: Differences were found in pre-test post-test measures, however, between groups differences occurred only for HRV, with statistically significant improvement in the experimental group (parameter LF/HF and pNN50). Conclusion: Vibroacoustic therapy has the potential to contribute to the stress management of university students. Further research is needed to explore the effect of LFS on stress response, especially when applied without additional music listening.
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Kantor et al. (2022) conducted an RCT in Acute stress response (n=54). Low frequency sound vibration combined with music listening vs. Music listening without low frequency vibrations was evaluated on Acute stress response measured by heart rate variability (LF/HF parameter in lying position) (p=0.02). Low frequency sound vibration combined with music listening significantly improved heart rate variability (LF/HF parameter, p=0.02) compared to music alone, indicating increased parasympathetic activity.
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