Sound healing for ADHD: How Sound therapy Improves Focus and Calms the Mind

If you’re here wondering whether sound healing is good for people with ADHD, the short answer is yes, most often it is.

As a sound practitioner diagnosed with ADHD myself, I believe part of the reason is that it gives our busy brains something steady and layered to receive. In a similar way to how bilateral stimulation or multi-layered sound can feel regulating, the experience can land in a way that feels accessible rather than demanding.

For some ADHDers, sound offers a space to process. And sometimes, quite unexpectedly, the wide range of harmonics produced, especially from larger gongs, can feel like a break from the constant internal noise.

As a trained sound practitioner, I often play the gongs for myself outside of sessions. It’s a moment that feels very different to holding space for others.

I’ll stand in front of the gongs, ready to strike, and there’s always a brief pause. A moment of anticipation before anything begins.

At this point, some might say the universal greeting as taught by Don Conreaux, or maybe you quietly utter your own sacred words. Either way, you’re not just striking a gong, you’re preparing to touch it so gently you barely meet the surface.

This is priming the gong, a subtle warm-up, like whispering to the instrument before it’s ready to speak or sing.

However… disclosure alert, I am a ADHD’r. (Or AuDHD’er to be precise) I don’t always do everything I’ve just described, and I definitely don’t always prime my gongs……. Cue dramatic gasps from the sound Gong police. (sadly there is such a thing as gong police they even have their own account on Facebook would you believe!)

Priming a gong is absolutely what you’re supposed to do.

But since I’m an AuDHDer, like many things with ADHD, that process doesn’t always go as we are told its supposed to.

Now, I get it. Priming the gong is important. It’s about easing into the sound, gradually building up, and gently warming the metal. This warm-up helps care for the instrument over time.

But here’s where ADHD can throw a curveball. The impatience to dive in and hear those deep, powerful tones leading me to skiping the slower steps. My mind is often ahead of itself.

Being a gong player with ADHD brings its challenges, but it also brings a level of sensitivity that plays a key part in the work I do.

My brain, like your ADHD brain is tunned into subtle shifts in sound, pacing, and atmosphere, and that awareness allows me to create sessions that feel supportive rather than demanding.

And that matters, especially for ADHD.

Many people with ADHD struggle with traditional relaxation practices because they come with an unspoken expectation to be still, quiet, and focused.

That you will simply empty your mind.

That can feel uncomfortable, or even impossible.

Sound offers something different.

You might lie down, or you might prefer to sit up. You might move, fidget, or adjust your position. You might drift in and out, think about ten different things, or fall asleep. All of that is completely welcome - and normal.

There is no one right way to experience sound therapy.

It’s also not uncommon to see many neurodivergent clients in my Totnes practice, particularly drawn to the gong space.

And I think there’s a reason for that.

Sound gives the brain something to engage with without requiring effort in the usual sense. The layered, continuous nature of the gong can hold attention without demanding it. For an ADHD brain, that can feel far more accessible than silence or guided concentration.

This is where research becomes interesting. Sound therapy, particularly through gongs and similar instruments, is gaining recognition as a supportive approach for stress, focus, and emotional regulation.

A study published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine by Landry et al. (2016) found that sound healing techniques, including gongs and singing bowls, led to a significant reduction in cortisol levels. Cortisol is a key stress hormone, and managing stress plays a major role in improving focus and emotional regulation for people with ADHD.

Research by Dr David Lewis-Hodgson at Mindlab International has explored how low-frequency sound can influence brainwave activity. His findings suggest that certain sound patterns can support a shift into calmer brain states associated with relaxation and reduced mental agitation.

Other forms of sound, including white noise, nature sounds, and binaural beats, have also been studied in relation to ADHD. These structured auditory inputs can help some people maintain focus without overstimulation. A study from Tokushima University Hospital (2018) found that auditory stimulation improved focus in children with ADHD, although responses vary, as they always do with neurodivergent brains.

Music therapy research also supports this. Geretsegger et al. (2014) found that rhythmic sound can help reduce hyperactivity and support emotional regulation by providing a predictable structure for the brain to engage with.

What I see in practice reflects this.

For some people, sound creates a sense of physical calm.

For others, it’s a space where the mind can finally move freely without interruption, almost like clearing out a backlog of thoughts.

For some, it leads to sleep.

And for many, it sits somewhere in between.

None of these responses are wrong.

In fact, that mental activity, the thinking, the drifting, the processing, can be part of the experience rather than something getting in the way of it.

The multi-layered nature of sound can meet the ADHD brain where it is. It offers enough complexity to engage with, without requiring effort to control or direct attention.

That’s why I take a pragmatic approach in my sessions. I don’t promise a particular outcome or a perfectly quiet mind. I create a space where your experience can unfold in its own way.

There is no performance here.

So, if you find yourself craving that sense of guided stillness, not forced, not perfect, just supported, then I’d recommend joining me the gorgeous candle-lit yurt for a group gong bath offered two Fridays each month, or if you prefer booking a one-to-one energy and sound session.

If you’ve enjoyed reading these shorter blog pieces, The Yoki Way publishes a longer monthly editorial called Restorative Matters.

It’s a slower, more reflective piece, sent once a month, exploring rest, the body, and the stories we live within.

It’s completely free to receive, and your email is only ever used for that single monthly edition. No extras.

You can join here to receive the next edition.

Click to be added