Healthy Young AdultsNCT07267520
The Effects of Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl Music and Guided Relaxation on Mood and Sleep in Rangatahi (Young Adults)
A study testing Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl music and Progressive Muscle Relaxation in people with Healthy Young Adults, run by The University of Waikato at 1 site in New Zealand.
Trial 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. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 16 to 25 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Healthy Young Adults
- What is being tested?
- Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl music and Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 108 participants
- Where
- 1 siteNew Zealand
- Study dates
- 22 Mar 2024to 31 Dec 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 16 to 25 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult
Who may be able to join
- age 16-25 years
Who cannot join
- undergoing psychiatric/psychological treatment
- participation in guided relaxation more than once a month
- listened to singing bowls more than once a month
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
New Zealand1 site
School of Psychological and Social Sciences
Hamilton, Waikato Region, 3204
About this study
Official title: The Effects of Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl Music and Guided Relaxation on Mood and Sleep in Young Adults
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.
Read more
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
- Being tested
- Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl music, Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- Keywords
- Mood, Crystal singing bowls, Progressive muscle relaxation, online intervention
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl musicBehavioural
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
Progressive Muscle RelaxationBehavioural
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
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Quartz Crystal Singing Bowls music | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl music |
| Progressive Muscle Relaxation | Active comparator | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Progressive Muscle Relaxation |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
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
Measured: 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
Measured: Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks
Secondary outcomes (3)
Change in POMS subscale scores at 4 and 8 weeks
The POMS has seven subscales: Tension, Anger, Fatigue, Depression, Esteem related affect, Vigour and Confusion. For the negative subscales (Tension, fatigue, confusion, depression and anger), a higher score indicates poorer mood. For the positive subscales (vigour and esteem related affect), a high score indicates a more positive mood.
Measured: Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks
Overall sleep quality
Rating of overall sleep quality from the Auckland Sleep questionnaire. Higher ratings (on a 1-4 scale) indicate poorer sleep quality
Measured: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Visual analogues scales - immediately before and after a session
To assess the acute effects of the intervention, participants will be asked to complete ratings of overall mood, relaxation, and stress before and after one session one session each week. Participants are asked to rate how they are feeling right now using a visual analogue scale (VAS) from 0 (worst I've ever felt not relaxed, not stressed,) to 100 (very stressed, very relaxed, best I've ever felt)
Measured: Once a week for 8 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted5 Dec 2025
- Study start22 Mar 2024
- Primary completion11 Oct 2024
- Study completion31 Dec 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (2)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Healthy Young AdultsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 108 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- The University of Waikato
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- University of Auckland, New Zealand
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Nicola Starkey, The University of Waikato
- Investigators
- Nicola J Starkey, Starkey, Principal investigator, University of WaikatoMichael Jameson, Principal investigator, University of Auckland, New Zealand
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07267520
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- HREC(Health)2024#3
- Status last verified
- Dec 2025
- First submitted
- 24 Nov 2025
- Last updated
- 15 Dec 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: All data are available from the PI upon reasonable request
Publications
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.
PubMed 27694559Matthews 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
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Dec 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effects of Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl Music and Guided Relaxation on Mood and Sleep in Young Adults
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07267520
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- HREC(Health)2024#3
- Conditions
- Healthy Young Adults
- Keywords
- Mood, Crystal singing bowls, Progressive muscle relaxation, online intervention
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 108 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- The University of WaikatoUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- University of Auckland, New Zealand
- Study start
- 22 Mar 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 11 Oct 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 5 Dec 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
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.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Quartz Crystal Singing Bowls music | Experimental | Behavioral: Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl music |
| Progressive Muscle Relaxation | Active comparator | Behavioral: Progressive Muscle Relaxation |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 16 to 25 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- age 16-25 years
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- undergoing psychiatric/psychological treatment
- participation in guided relaxation more than once a month
- listened to singing bowls more than once a month
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl musicThe 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 | Behavioural | Quartz Crystal Singing Bowls music |
| Progressive Muscle RelaxationA 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 | Behavioural | Progressive Muscle Relaxation |
Primary outcome
Change in total mood disturbance (TMD) score between baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks
Time frame: 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
Change in total mood disturbance (TMD) score between baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks
Time frame: 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
3 secondary outcomes
Change in POMS subscale scores at 4 and 8 weeks
Time frame: Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks
Overall sleep quality
Time frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Visual analogues scales - immediately before and after a session
Time frame: Once a week for 8 weeks
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Dec 2025.
- Background: PubMed 27694559Goldsby 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.
- BackgroundMatthews 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
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. All data are available from the PI upon reasonable request
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Nicola J Starkey, Starkey principal investigator
University of Waikato
Michael Jameson principal investigator
University of Auckland, New Zealand
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl music and Progressive Muscle Relaxation in people with Healthy Young Adults, run by The University of Waikato at 1 site in New Zealand.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Dec 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in New Zealand. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in total mood disturbance (TMD) score between baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks (time frame: Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07267520, which also lists 2 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Dec 2025.