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 Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
108
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
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
School of Psychological and Social Sciences
Hamilton, Waikato Region, New Zealand
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
Time frame: 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
Time frame: Baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks
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.
Time frame: 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
Time frame: 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)
Time frame: Once a week for 8 weeks
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