Mantra in Meditation: The Effect of Sound on Relaxation

Abstract

The use of mantra as a tool for meditation is an ancient practice. It is a spiritually rooted discipline, thought to release various types of energy when producing sounds. The study expanded upon previous research, which analyzed the physiological effects of sound in meditation, to examine the “OM” sound and its effect on brainwaves and skin temperature. Participants were asked to complete four meditations: a baseline, silent, guided, and “OM” meditation. Study 1 included a sample population of 30 participants with no restriction on meditation experience. Study 2, with a sample population of 15, included participants with at minimum one month of meditation experience. Participants completed a questionnaire gauging their previous experience with meditation. Raw brainwaves peaks and skin temperature for each of the conditions were assessed. Findings showed a significantly lower number of baseline peaks compared to all other conditions of silent, guided and “OM”. There was a significantly higher number of calm brainwave peaks across the silent, guided, and OM conditions. There was a significant difference in first and final temperature for the all of the meditations. Future research may examine effects of relaxation with a sample population of OM experienced meditators