I attended an ADHD conference called NeuroBloom this month, and while I was there, I learned a few incredible things about neurodiversity. But the best lesson by far? That just 90 seconds a day of humming — yes, humming — could soothe your nervous system and reduce stress.
During one talk, the key speaker pulled up a slide referring to a study on “simple humming” and the comparison with other stress-busting activities, such as exercise and sleep.
Researchers found that an activity as simple (and let’s face it, as annoying) as humming could increase your heart’s variability (known as HRV) and total power while reducing stress, producing a stronger vagal tone.
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Your vagal tone refers to your vagus nerve (the gut-brain axis), which controls your parasympathetic nervous system or “rest and digest” state. It can impact functions like heart rate and breathing, and the higher your tone, the better your stress recovery.
I’m not joking, and since the talk, I have been humming daily. Find out what the study has to say about humming and your nervous system, and how it could be more effective than exercise and sleep for busting stress.
What is the study?
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The study, published in Cureus, looked at the comparative impact of humming, physical activity, sleep and emotional stress on heart rate variability (HRV). The goal was to assess the effectiveness of humming or “simple Bhramari pranayama” on reducing stress and impacting HRV.
Researchers assessed long-term HRV parameters of 23 participants across humming, physical activity, emotional stressors and sleep. This included men and women between 18-60 years old who were considered “functional” and “with normal health.” Participants wore a Holter device for at least 16 hours, which included a minimum of eight awake hours.
Physical activity involved walking, jogging, sports or cycling. Sleep was defined as “at night” with no napping and for at least six hours. Humming was performed for at least 15 minutes. Any stressful activity was determined by a combination of HRV parameters and lasted 15 minutes, with participants marking the beginning and end of any mental or emotionally stressful situation like a traffic jam.
In case you’re wondering what the humming involved, participants inhaled for three to four seconds, then exhaled for six to eight seconds while performing a humming bee sound. This sounds like a low, long “hm,” like a bumblebee.
Tests compared the HRV results during the four activities to see if humming enhanced the autonomic nervous system. Before we take a look at the results, it’s worth noting that this is a pilot study using a small sample of participants, and further research is needed. We also don’t have much information on the background of the participants.
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What are the results?
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Researchers found that humming generated the lowest stress index compared to physical activity, sleep and emotional stress. There also appeared to be a positive impact on the autonomic nervous system, showing that both humming and sleep could reduce stress best, with humming coming out on top.
Researchers found that humming generated the lowest stress index compared to physical activity, sleep and emotional stress.
Heart rate was lowest during sleep, but humming resulted in the second lowest heart rate. The study also found that the standard deviation of normal-to-normal heart signal intervals, which are basically a key measure of vagal tone, was significantly improved for humming compared to the other activities.
Researchers even said this confirms “the ability of humming to generate unique oscillations of the heart’s signals.” And a similar pattern emerged for total power during humming, even compared to sleep.
Finally, HRV was higher for humming than for physical activity and emotional stress, but with sleep topping humming. The research concludes that humming significantly increases HRV and “total power.”
Humming activities generated a significant improvement in stress index, heart rate signal intervals and total HRV power, compared to sleep, exercise and emotional stress. It also improved overall HRV and reduced heart rate (although less than sleep), showing it is a stress-reducing and HRV-enhancing activity that could outperform sleep and exercise in certain areas.
Verdict: What does this mean for you?
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According to this study, humming is a useful daily tool that can improve physiological and psychological states. Over time, higher HRV could improve overall focus and attention while boosting mood and increasing your sense of calm.
As an accessible activity you can do for a short time, it may improve mood and enhance a sense of calm, helping the body switch from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic nervous system for rest and repair.
Although the study was based on 15 minutes of humming, it appears that just 90 seconds could still have stress-busting benefits and positively impact your respiratory system and HRV, according to the International Journal of Yoga. The research found improvements in overall variability, total power and stress index.
If you don’t have time for 15 minutes, even 90 seconds could be the secret to a calmer, more serene you.
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