La Jornada: “Exploring sound is discovering new ways of being present”

Into that scene bursts Sounds for your well-being: The science of sound for the mind and bodythe most recent book by the doctor in communication, engineer and piano teacher Jordi A. Jauset. Published by Plataforma Editorial in Spain, it began its distribution in digital format and the printed edition will soon be distributed in Latin America.

The starting point was not a hypothesis, but an experience. “The main motivation arose after attending, a few years ago, a meditative concert in Barcelona,” explained the author in an interview with The Day.

That session with quartz bowls and voice was not limited to listening; He opened a search, and the objective, he added, was “to experiment and then be able to explain what was happening in my body and mind.”

Curiosity turned into inquiry, and something still amazed him: “that something as subtle as an acoustic vibration makes our nervous system react.”

From there came dives, contrast and method. For years, this territory remained on the margins of medicine due to the lack of measurable biological mechanisms. Today the scenario is different: “Methodological advances and theoretical frameworks have converged that give sound practices a reproducible empirical basis.”

Even so, Jauset (Lérida, Spain, 1955) stressed, it was “an exciting field of research” in which “there is still much to discover.”

The shift is clear: music was no longer considered solely as an aesthetic stimulus to be understood as “a neuroplastic stimulator capable of influencing even genetic expression.”

That turn opened a intersection between perception and biology. External rhythms could synchronize internal processes, a relationship he linked to rhythmic training.

In parallel, certain vibrations favored states of physiological security, in line with studies on the vagus nerve. What was previously attributed to intuition today found a measurable framework.

His career accompanied that search. He grew up in a musical environment, trained as an engineer and later turned to neuroscience to answer questions that he could not find resolved. “I didn’t understand what was happening to my brain, why I had flashes of creativity or that state of well-being after running.”

The answers did not close the process; They expanded it and led it to translate complex concepts into a familiar but well-founded language. In his book, Jordi A. Jauset describes the path of sound in the body: the vibration is converted into electrical impulses that travel through the nervous system and are interpreted by the brain.

During this journey, circuits linked to emotion, memory and reward are activated. “Loops are established, causing a massive release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins,” he indicated. More than a straight line, it is a system in constant dialogue.

Added to the auditory route is another less obvious one: the body also perceives. We hear sounds or music, but we feel them through the skin, and this double input explains why each response is modulated by personal history, context and preferences.

From there he distinguished practices: music therapy pursues specific clinical objectives; soundscapes modify the environment; Guided meditations work on attention.

Faced with this panorama, he proposed a central idea: to go from being a passive listener to “an acoustic architect”, where each person intentionally selects the stimuli that make up their daily environment.

This conscious use was not based on universal formulas. “The answer is not in a certain frequency… it will depend on the personal moment,” warned the scientific communicator. It also involved active exploration: “each person must try and experience what sound brings them calm.”

In this process, specific changes could appear, from better quality of sleep to “less reactivity to stressful stimuli.”

The reflection gained weight in a saturated environment. “We live in a state of hyperacusis induced by environmental overstimulation.” The constant noise kept the body on alert, raised stress levels and made it difficult to rest. The brain, under these conditions, rarely reached a state of sustained calm.

Not all sounds acted the same. Simple harmonic structures, rhythms close to the resting pulse or natural environments tended to favor regulation. Still, any rule is relative. “There is no universal magical frequency.”

Jauset concludes with an invitation: “Exploring sound is discovering new ways of being present, listening to our body and reconnecting with the environment. Each vibration can become an ally to take care of our mind and enhance our daily well-being.”