Sound changes the feel of a place.

What the reviews report

A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis combined 15 studies with 1,285 participants. It reported lower anxiety scores and changes in several physiological measures after natural-sound exposure. The authors also found substantial variation between studies and said that cognitive-performance results were not consistent.

The research includes different sounds, settings, participants, and listening conditions. It does not establish that a particular sound works for everyone, that it masks distracting thoughts, or that it improves a medical condition.

Why sound belongs with the environment

Some experiments study sound on its own; others pair it with a visual scene. In one workplace study, 39 knowledge workers took nine 15-minute virtual nature breaks with forest or water video and sound, nature sound alone, or a quiet-room comparison. The combined video-and-sound breaks produced higher self-reported restoration than the other conditions, while the researchers also reported unexpected changes in some positive-emotion and energy measures.

That is useful design evidence, not a universal prescription. Biomi lets people listen, explore, and leave at their own pace; it does not claim that its audio produces a measured brain state.

What this means for Biomi

We treat environmental sound as one part of a composed place—not as a treatment, a guaranteed focus aid, or a substitute for clinical care. The sound should be comfortable to the listener, and it should be easy to change or stop.