I Tried A Sound Healing App & It Helped Me Sleep More Deeply

As I write this, I’m listening to a frequency soundtrack meant to help with brain fog and lack of focus — two things that never hurt to get under control while at work. It sounds a lot like a wavering hum, but it’s actually a layered sound specifically designed to wiggle into my brain, and set things right on a cellular level.

The soundtrack can be found on the Soaak app, which offers clinically-curated frequencies to help with focus, anxiety, depression, sleep, and more. If you’re a sucker for rain soundtracks or white noise, these Soaak sounds have a lot of the same soothing benefits, but they’re also backed with an extra dose of science.

Sound healing has been around for ages, but it’s also having a moment on TikTok, where the various forms have racked up millions of views. You can find sound baths with crystal healing bowls that ring in different keys — like C, D, E, F, G, A, and B — to represent and balance your seven chakras. Binaural beats have also been a big hit. This is when two tones play at slightly different frequencies to create an auditory illusion that packs the same benefits of deep meditation, including decreased stress and better sleep.

Soaak’s frequencies, on the other hand, are a combo of sounds curated by a team of doctors, and according to the company, the app takes sound healing to another level. Keep reading below for my honest review of the app, including what it was like to listen to the sounds during my daily routine.

What To Know About The Soaak App

Soaak App Fast Facts

• Price: $29.99/month, $299.99/year
• Best for: Anxiety relief, more focus, better sleep
• My rating: 4/5
• Pros: Easy to use, boosts mood, science-backed, unique wellness tool
• Cons: Expensive, some 21-day programs seem outdated

The Soaak app comes with thirty different “clinically proven sound frequency compositions” that you can play throughout the day to relieve stress, boost your focus, chill out, or fall asleep. Their tagline is “Immerse Yourself In A Symphony Of Self-Care” — and that’s honestly what it feels like.

The app allows you to play the frequencies alone, but you can also use the app’s dual audio feature to play them in the background while you listen to your usual music, podcast, or audiobook. The frequencies don’t have to be loud to work their magic, so you can play them low enough that they’re barely noticeable — and almost subliminal.

The app also offers wearable connectivity, so you can sync your health biometrics — like your heart rate — using your Apple Watch (sorry, no other smartwatches are compatible just yet). This taps into the app's virtual health concierge, which uses the data from your watch to suggest personalized health tips, such as which frequencies to listen to.

Like most standard wellness apps, there’s a gratitude journal section, daily mindfulness intentions, positive morning affirmations, and various podcast-style wellness programs you can listen to.

These come straight from experts in the wellness industry and beyond, like doctors, meditation coaches, CEOS, and more. Some topics covered include healing your inner child, creating a culture of connection, building charisma, and more.

The app costs $29.99 a month or $299.99 a year, and there’s also a free trial so you can test drive before you buy.

What Do Healing Frequencies Do?

To get extra info about Soaak’s layered frequencies — the main feature that inspired me to try this app — I spoke with Henry Penix, the co-founder and executive chairman of Soaak Technologies, who said frequency therapy can be explained through the principle of “sympathetic resonance,” which is essentially a form of vibrational healing.

“The body's malleable frequencies align with the unchanging frequencies from the app, facilitating targeted benefits like enhanced sleep, improved focus, and reduced anxiety,” he says. In other words, it means the sound waves impact you physiologically, helping you feel more aligned overall.

These sounds can serve both proactive and reactive needs, he adds. “It's an excellent resource for immediate assistance in various situations, such as anxiety episodes, sleep difficulties, or maintaining focus at work,” he tells Bustle. If you’re sad, you can pop on a frequency to feel lighter. If you’re stressed, an anti-anxiety tune could do the trick.

But these sounds are also good for preventive care. “Many users integrate Soaak into their daily routines, utilizing its passive listening feature during activities like working, driving, or exercising,” he says. The goal? To nip anxiety in the bud, before it can rear its ugly head.

My Experience

As someone who often plays white noise while I work, I chose a white noise with some healing benefits to start. Soaak’s frequencies can drown out background noise, especially if you play them with headphones, and they are said to help you feel better, so I was all in.

As an anxious girly, I went right for the Anti-Anxiety track under the Frequencies tab, which is designed to calm you down by supporting deeper breathing, while also increasing peacefulness — all good things, IMO.

I’d compare this track to the intergalactic space noises you might hear in a sci-fi movie. There’s a lot of wavering and different warbling intonations. It can be a tad off-putting or eerie at first, so there’s also an option to layer the tones with nature noises or music within the app, or you can play it in the background with your usual music.

I was amazed that the frequencies continued to play, even after I left the app and navigated over to Spotify, where I put on some low-key music. While the beats were still noticeable, they did seem to melt into the background, making them more tolerable as I listened to my fave tunes.

According to Penix, listening to the frequencies one to three times a day for twenty minutes is the most beneficial way to use the app. Some people feel the positive effects right away while others need to listen a bit longer.

As for me, I truly did feel physically calmer within about five minutes. Instead of feeling tensed up with racing thoughts, I was able to let my shoulders drop down and go back about my day, without feeling on edge.

Next up, I tried the Sleep Well track, which supports falling asleep faster. It can also help you toss and turn less often, enter a deeper REM sleep cycle, and wake up refreshed.

Since each track is twenty minutes long, I played this space-y tune when I first got into bed, and it eventually turned itself off. That night, I had the most vivid dream I’ve had in a while, so much so that I still remembered it after I woke up, which is rarely the case. Based on my dream alone, I feel like I did enter a restorative stage of sleep.

Another favorite frequency of mine was the Depression Relief track. I played this tune one afternoon when I was feeling down, and I don’t know if it was a placebo, a distraction — or if the frequencies were truly doing their thing —but I felt lighter after the 20 minutes were up.

To test one of the 21-day programs available, I went into the Programs tab within the app and scrolled the various options. The one that stood out to me was by Ali Levine, a certified breathwork specialist whose three-week course focuses on changing your outlook and giving you tools to be more mindful. The goal is to feel more confident, grounded, and energized.

Each day, you gain access to one of the 21 audios, and the tracks are truly short-and-sweet, at only five minutes long. In the first one, Levine walked me through some positive affirmations like, “I breathe fresh energy and breathe out my own limited beliefs.”

She also reminded me to take conscious inhales and exhales, which was helpful as someone who often holds my breath when I’m stressed. After listening to Levine’s audio tracks for two weeks, I officially look forward to listening each day — it’s like my own little daily ritual.

The Takeaway

First of all, I’ll start by saying that the Focus frequency really did seem to help me lock in while writing this review, so that’s a major perk right there.

I’d also say this app seems like it could be a big help if you’re looking for a supportive measure when it comes to dealing with the annoying ups and downs of life, like brain fog, anxiety, lack of sleep, or a bad mood. When you pair the frequencies with other wellness practices, like long walks, talk therapy, and the like, the benefits shine through.

Soaak has 4.9 out of 5 stars in the app store based on over 40 reviews, so it seems like it’s been a big help for others, too. While it’s not necessarily budget-friendly, I think it won’t hurt to try something new, especially if you haven’t had much luck with other forms of self-care. When in doubt, why not listen to a few sci-fi beats?

Studies referenced:

Bartel, L. (2021). Possible Mechanisms for the Effects of Sound Vibration on Human Health. Healthcare (Basel). doi: 10.3390/healthcare9050597.