Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42389090›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychology2026

The impact of sound intervention on sleep quality and stress levels in college students: a randomized controlled trial.

Hengfei Hou, Jian Wang, Xiaodong Yue

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Hengfei HouHenan Forestry Vocational College, Luoyang, Henan, China.
Jian WangHenan Forestry Vocational College, Luoyang, Henan, China.
Xiaodong YueSchool of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: To assess the effectiveness of interventions combining pink noise or binaural beats with pure music in improving sleep quality and reducing perceived stress among college students, and to preliminarily investigate their effects on morning salivary cortisol levels. Methods: Using a three-group randomized controlled design, 66 college students with poor sleep quality (PSQI score >7) were randomly assigned to a pink noise + pure music group, a binaural beats + pure music group, or a control group. The intervention group received a 30-min audio intervention at bedtime for 4 consecutive weeks, 5 nights per week. Morning salivary cortisol concentrations were measured at baseline, week 2, week 4, and the week-6 follow-up. Perceived stress and sleep quality were assessed using the PSS and PSQI, respectively. Results: Generalized estimating equation analyses revealed significant time, group, and time-by-group interaction effects for both PSS and PSQI scores ( Discussion: A 4-week bedtime audio intervention effectively improved sleep quality and reduced perceived stress. Binaural beats combined with pure music appeared to be more effective in reducing perceived stress, but this benefit was not reflected in peak salivary cortisol levels measured 30 min after awakening. However, cortisol measurements obtained at a single daily time point are insufficient to infer a short-term modulatory effect of the intervention on basal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity.

Indexed as

binaural beatspink noisesalivary cortisolsleep qualitystress

Identifiers

PMID42389090
PMCPMC13318881

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.