Dr. John Stuart Reid and the Effects of Sound Immersion on In Vitro Blood Cells Summary
- Sienna Eve Benton
- Feb 22
- 6 min read
Testing Sound and Blood Cell Longevity
STUDY AVAILABLE VIA RESEARCH GATE
There has been an ongoing debate between Eastern and Western medicine about whether sound, music, or instruments like singing bowls can support the body’s innate healing mechanisms. In many Eastern traditions, sound has long been used as a tool for healing, meditation, and energy balancing. In contrast, Western medicine has generally approached such practices with skepticism, often demanding measurable scientific evidence to support these claims.
Dr. Reid and Professor Sungchul Ji, an expert in cellular biology and Emeritus of Rutgers University, conducted a study on the effects of music on human blood. They took whole human blood obtained from a biolab, warmed it in an incubator to normal blood temperature, and decanted it into two separate test tubes. They then used an automatic cell counter and the Trypan blue stain assay to count how many red blood cells were living versus dead, or old, in each test tube and measured the level of oxygen in the blood.
One blood sample tube was placed in an incubator in which a small speaker played music for 20 minutes. The sound pressure level averaged 85 dBA (Decibels A-weighted) The "A" refers to the measurement reflecting the human ear’s perception of loudness.)
The other blood sample tube was placed in an incubator in the lab’s Faraday Cage, without music for 20 minutes, exposed to background sound at about 30 dBA, almost as quiet as an anechoic chamber. What they discovered after the 20-minute session was significant.
The study demonstrated that exposure to music regenerated the membranes of old red blood cells, thus resisting penetration of the Trypan blue stain and being now counted as living, by the automatic cell counter. Small percentage increases in white blood cell viability were also found. Counterintuitively, of the many music genres tested, classical music returned the lowest percentage increases in cell viability (the ratio of living to dead red blood cells), and popular music, with its typically bass beat, returned the highest increases in cell viability. They also tested singing bowls, gongs, didgeridoo, crystal bowls, harp and a variety of other musical instruments, all of which increased red and white blood cell viability. Reid and Professor Ji concluded that extremely low frequency (ELF) acoustic energy was responsible for this regeneration effect, mimicking the ELF energy of an actual heart “beat” which, in the vascular system, helps bind dissolved oxygen to hemoglobin.
They hypothesize that the increase in oxygen levels in the blood, as a consequence of the pressure from ELF sound, is responsible for the repair of old red cell and white cell membranes in vitro, although more research is needed to identify the actual regeneration mechanism at work. Their study on in vitro music-blood experiments is currently being drafted and they are aiming to publish their results in 2026 and then progress to an in vivo study, based on the same principles.
Dr. Reid also discussed the importance of safety in exposure to sound pressure levels. He emphasized that the optimal therapeutic range for sound immersion is 70–85 decibels (dB), which he and Professor Ji identified in experiments and termed the ‘Goldilocks zone.’ Levels above 90 dB begin to stress cells and when cells were immersed in an SPL of 120 dBA, all red blood cells were killed within 20 minutes. This dramatically demonstrates that high intensity sound is harmful to life.
This study inspired more questions where variations of musical genres were tested. Dr. Reid refers to genres that embody rhythmic drumming or a rhythmic bass beat as being especially efficacious for stimulating the vagus nerve system. The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the body, which runs from the brainstem, branching to the pinna of the ears, then to pharynx and larynx, and down through the neck into the thorax and abdomen, innervating nearly every major organ (lungs, heart, stomach, liver, kidneys, gall bladder, pancreas and intestines.) Sonic stimulation of the vagus nerve system by low frequency sound helps control the inflammatory reflex, and when optimally applied via the tragus of the ears, can abate a cytokine storm.
There is much research in medical literature regarding transcutaneous electrical stimulation (tVNS) of the vagus nerves, specifically frequencies in the range, 5 Hz to 10 Hz, however, Reid points out that music-based stimulation, via the pinna and tragus of the ears, is far more pleasurable and therefore a form of therapy that is more likely to be maintained by a patient than tVNS. The piezo-electric effect ensures that musical frequencies entering the vagus nerves via the pinna of each ear, are automatically transformed into electrical signals in the vagus nerve system.
Reid and others highlight that low-frequency sound and and low frequency microcurrent devices, especially delivering energy in the all-important 5 to 10 Hz range, optimally stimulates the vagus nerve non-invasively. Reid points out that Bluetooth headphones, and earbud headphones and bone conduction headphones typically do not reproduce sound below 20 Hz, so are not ideal for vagal stimulation. However, high quality cord-attached headphones typically offer a frequency response that starts at 5 Hz, and in the case of the Beyer Dynamic DT770 Pro X, reach up to a high of 35,000 Hz, making them valuable as a therapeutic tool. However, most headphone amplifiers cannot deliver these lower frequencies, typically rolling off their response at 20 Hz, therefore, from a therapeutic stance, it is important to select a high specification headphone amplifier that can preserve and transmit ELF sonic energy.
When Compact Discs and other forms of digitally recorded music are mastered, the extremely low frequencies, below 20 Hz, are usually steeply rolled off by the recording engineer because even the best speaker systems cannot reproduce them. Yet, Reid noticed on a laboratory spectrum analyzer that certain music albums generate frequencies down to 4 and 5 Hz, in real time as the album plays. He realized that although the recorded music does not contain these extremely low frequencies, they are created by the heterodyne effect (the mixing of frequencies, thereby creating new frequencies), in real time, in the electrical domain of the audio signal path. This discovery led him to test many albums and create a list of those that exhibit the phenomenon, as embodying potential for optimal vagus nerve stimulation.
Another treatment Reid has proposed involves designing a specialized bed that could act as an emergency support system during surgery if cardiac function is compromised. When delivered at the correct frequency and intensity, these sounds or rhythmic beats may help sustain cellular oxygenation by simulating the mechanical pressure needed for hemoglobin to bind with oxygen, provided respiration is maintained long enough for this form of sonic intervention to take effect.
He also suggested embedding low-frequency tactile transducers into hospital beds to generate gentle wave-like pulses through the spine and body. This technology could help stimulate vagal tone, enhance oxygen binding in the blood, and support the lymphatic system, which depends on physical movement to function and is often compromised in bed-ridden patients. It would also help reduce the patient’s pain response by constantly stimulating the large A-alpha and A-beta afferent nerve fibers, and therefore, activating the Melzack-Wall pain gate in the dorsal horn of the spinal column, which closes under the influence of low frequency sound, and therefore mediates the pain.
Focally applied low frequency sound (circa 40 to 50 Hz) can efficiently mediate local pain without resorting to analgesics, again activated by the Melzack-Wall pain gate. This may be why some people report pain reduction during a sound bath, because the low frequency component of the sound source deeply penetrates their tissues and activates the large afferent fibers in real time, though not as efficiently as focally applied sound.
Dr. Reid hopes to see these non-invasive, sound-based therapies become part of mainstream medicine. His vision includes loaner devices for low-income patients and partnerships between hospitals and music stores or sound wellness centers. He believes such technology should be made available to everyone, not just the wealthy, especially those living with chronic pain, chronic inflammation, or neurological conditions.
For more of Dr. John Stuart Reid's work visit https://cymascope.com/
