Claim reviewed: Listening to rhythmic drumming may facilitate absorption and relaxation.
What do we know?
A narrative review reports that findings on rhythmic sound fit the view that it facilitates absorption and relaxation. In an fMRI study of 15 experienced practitioners, trance with drumming came with changes in brain networks linked to internally oriented thought.
What don't we know?
Controlled studies are few, and the fMRI participants were experienced practitioners. It has not been shown that drumming brings brain waves to a particular frequency; the proposed mechanism is a hypothesis.
Wording we use in the app: You can sink into listening with a rhythmic drum; evidence on its effects is limited.
Sources (2)
Aparicio-Terrés ve ark. 2025 · Review
A narrative review of behavioural, cognitive and neural findings on non-ordinary states induced by drumming and rhythmic sounds. The findings fit the view that these sounds facilitate absorption and relaxation; neural findings vary with method. The mechanism the authors propose is a hypothesis.
Aparicio-Terrés R, López-Mochales S, Díaz-Andreu M, Escera C. The neurobiology of altered states of consciousness induced by drumming and other rhythmic sound patterns. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2025;1550(1):55-70. doi:10.1111/nyas.15403 PMID 40668575 Go to source
Hove ve ark. 2016 · Experiment · 15 participants
Fifteen experienced shamanic practitioners listened to rhythmic drumming in an fMRI scanner and either entered trance or did not. During trance, a network linked to internally oriented thought was more co-active with control networks, and auditory pathways were less connected.
First published online in 2015. Participants were experienced practitioners; results do not generalise to all listeners.
Hove MJ, Stelzer J, Nierhaus T, Thiel SD, Gundlach C, Margulies DS, Van Dijk KR, Turner R, Keller PE, Merker B. Brain Network Reconfiguration and Perceptual Decoupling During an Absorptive State of Consciousness. Cereb Cortex. 2016;26(7):3116-3124. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhv137 PMID 26108612 Go to source
Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · Next review: 3 April 2027