Imagine
something giving you an immense happiness and you are feeling light. The last
layer of sadness and stress just evaporated when you started listening to
Binaural Beats, and you found yourself becoming a fan of these beats as they
are an effective alternative to other harmful healers (drugs, alcohol)
but they truly are not.
 |
| Impact of Binaural Beats on our brain |
In this modern competitive
age the stress levels are almost higher and we all try and seek an escape route
to relaxation and joy. The hurdles of everyday life takes us to the clutter at
the end of the day and we end up with over thinking, sleeplessness, overactive
mind and other similar things. Sometimes the stress is the reason for insomnia
and in some cases it’s the addiction to the technology that makes us sleep
less. It’s a wonderful day if we wake up early and we go to a guilt trip when
our sleep cycle is out of order. We opt for various things to calm our overactive
minds, to increase our creativity, to focus and promote sound sleep like
meditation and yoga.
These are
very effective things to keep fit our mental and physical balances and overall health,
But there is some other thing too that does the same work and is immensely
effective as claimed by many. It helps in meditation too. It is a sound therapy
and is termed as brain entertainment previously and “Binaural Beats” at
present.
What are Binaural Beats?
Binaural means hearing sound from two ears. It is
a Latin word which means “with both ears”. These are the sound patterns that
when listened to through headphones synchronize the left and the right
hemispheres of the brain. So it is basically a brain synchronization technology.
Whenever we are depressed and we listen to our favorite music it makes us feel
good, that means music has a deep impact on our minds. So there are many
innovations from time to time that made people’s lives better through music and
relive them from mental stress. In the year 1839 Heinrich Wilhelm Dove found
that binaural beats work and he named them brain entertainment.
It was considered a fluke and
was completely discarded when it was discovered earlier. But now the scenario has
changed and this is preferred as an alternative medicine, or it is an
alternative medicine (frequency medicine) as these beats are found to be very
powerful in healing or the treatment for anxiety, depression and other physical
and mental conditions. The sound waves heal the overall body and brain’s patterns,
rhythms.
How it works?
Our brain activity changes when we listen to an
audio or sound, our right ear has different sound frequency and our left ear
has different sound frequency. If we listen to these two frequencies through
headphones we will hear a different sound. That is binaural beat. For example –
your right ear is playing a 200Hz sound frequency and your left ear is playing
210Hz frequency. Now when you listen these two sound frequencies together the sound
you will hear is binaural beats means the difference of two frequencies of 10Hz
is the binaural beats, your brain process the two frequencies and generates a
third brain wave. It is called frequency following response.
Specifically the listener listens to the beats in
a unique frequency in each ear where the difference between two frequencies is lower
than 40Hz. Because of this difference between the sound waves our brain creates
a new wave and the listener experiences a pulse or rhythm that is not present
in the audio in both the ears. This produces a meditative state where mind,
body and heart become relaxed and it is believed that when these three are
relaxed there are better possibilities of healing. The music is calming and
peaceful. It is because of these qualities Binaural Beats are called as “digital
drugs” or “tech meds” by certain scientists as some patients who experienced
these beats claimed that it was as meditative as when they smoked marijuana, even
better effects than that. They are not dangerous as they helped millions of
people worldwide.
Our Brain and its different levels of waves
Many scientific researches on binaural beats show
that whoever listens to these beats their brain waves and behavior changes and
these brain waves can be seen through EEG. It was noticed in EEG that the brain
waves becomes binaural waves when listening to the beats.
Let’s know what are the different levels of brain
wave patterns and how the binaural beats helps in synchronization.
Gamma:
The gamma waves are the fastest wave frequency in our brain measures between 25
to 100Hz with 40Hz the most usual for humans. People with high levels of these
waves have higher levels of intelligence, memory, strong concentration levels,
tremendous self-control and compassion.
Beta (waking state, the five senses):
The frequency of these waves measures between 15Hz to 40Hz. These waves
represent logic, concentration, alertness. The higher levels of these results
in anxiety and stress. Most of us are at the beta level throughout the day.
Alpha (sleep, deep meditation,
Relaxation, visualization): The brain wave
frequency between 9Hz to 14Hz. When brain posses these waves we are in the deep
relaxation state, the same between sleeping and waking up. It produces
serotonin and can access the sub-conscious mind too. The higher the alpha waves
the more focused and meditative we are. Intuitive powers also increase.
Theta (sleep):
The wave frequency between 5 and 8Hz. Characteristics are it increases the
creativity, sharpest memory skills, REM sleep as it produces catecholamines
which is crucial for memory and creative skills. Theta waves belong to trance,
deep meditation, accessing the unconscious brain and spiritual connection.
Delta (unconscious):
the lowest brain waves below 4Hz are delta waves. Characteristics are dreamless
sleep with loss of body awareness. During the delta wave cycles, our brain
produces large quantities of healing hormones and we may also access the
unconscious and collective unconscious mind during this cycle.
 |
| various brain wave frequencies |
Binaural Beats and their benefits
Here are some
reported benefits:
Focus increases
Decrease in Stress and Anxiety
Decrease in depression
Motivation level increases
Increased confidence
Relaxation
Sleep improvement
Immune system gets better
With meditating along with binaural
beats you can go to deep state called the delta of the brain.
You can change your mood.
How to use Binaural beats
At beginner level start listening for
only 10 or 15 minutes. Never listen to the advanced stage beats.
Always use Headphones because
different frequencies go to our ears that must reach our brain. This will help
brain in generating new brain waves.
Always listen in a peaceful place
where nobody disturbs you for those 15 minutes.
Patience is required as the results
won’t come overnight.
Ex President of American Board of
Anti-Ageing Medicine Dr. Vincent C. Giampapa discovered that listening to the
binaural beats of Alpha, Theta and Delta frequency affects Brain and produces three
important hormones in our body that helps in our longevity and overall health –
Cortisol, Dhea and Melatonin.
Cortisol is
associated with adrenalin gland and it is associated with stress and also
manages other functions like metabolism and immunity. When its level increases
in our body it has the negative impacts like anxiety, depression. Dr. Vincent
discovered that binaural beats helps in reducing the cortisol level up to
60-70%.
Dhea is also
associated with adrenalin - it helps in physical and mental development and
when its level increases in our body our health improves. Binaural Beats helps
in increasing their levels and thus helps in improving the overall health.
Melatonin hormone is
associated with our sleep it helps in restful sleep. Melatonin hormone
increases by binaural beats. Melatonin is
a hormone that is released by the pineal gland and it regulates the sleep–wake
cycle.
Fields of practice and business:
While a few scientists also report
that the thalamus is not affected during the binaural beats therapy and there
is a limited change in other physical and mental aspects as well. Their number
is also limited who claim this else there is a majority who says it being the
new cure drug and also witnessed a tremendous change in the mental states of
the patients.
It is also well marketed and thus
different versions are available in the market as a recommendation by the
healers. Well packaged and well branded beat therapies and online audio sales
too.
Military of certain countries are
also investing in experimental technology that is focused on mind-body healing
and control. It has a tremendous following by the corporate world if military
adapts it. So there might be new inventions of devices that produce binaural
beats and is available to the reach of the masses. The stress-anxiety era will
provide a niche to the mind-body enhancing and healing technology. The more the
R&D the more is the investment and the more will be the business.
Summary
Alpha waves aren’t the only pattern beneficial for learning and retention. Sustained theta waves have been found to allow for “a broader and deeper processing of the information provided by the teacher and increases focus of attention and creates a mental set of open receptivity”. The use of binaural beats signals in the classroom “improved focus of attention” and “a greater openness and enthusiasm for learning.”, “One of the by-products of hemispheric synchronization appears to be a highly focused state of attending. The ability to reduce ‘mind chatter’ and focus the attention is critical for efficient learning.” - Suzanne Evans Morris, PhD (speech-language pathologist).
“It takes a long time for me to settle into a deep meditation. If you can invent a device that will help me get into a deep meditative space, I will use it.” - The Dalai Lama
Many of the trans formative technologies are still
in early experimentation phase but binaural beats are a well researched healing
technology. Healing technologies are aimed at appeasing and healing not only
the mind and spirits, but also to heal the body.
In the next few years this technology could be a
trending rage. Many scientists belonging to different genres or technology believe
that brain waves are the key doorways that will lead us to meditative states and
improved physical conditions.
While the spiritual healers have always believed in
the power of induced relaxation for centuries and now science is walking along
with it. The faith and belief that is common everywhere is that when our
spirits are at peace and united, our bodies will follow the same.
