By Ella Quinn
Stress has become the most common dilemma of a modern contemporary life. The prevalence of emotional, mental, physical and social pressures, developing with everyday hassles of expectations around performance, has risen to its greatest degree ever in history. The lives of most individuals living in this fast-paced world have become more complex and demanding than ever. It leads to feelings of overwhelm and responses like agitation, frustration, depression, irritability etc causing an overall deterioration of the quality of life.
Stress is the product of a body's unfavorable and undesirable responses to the said stimuli that keep on accumulating in the subconscious mind. These responses exhibit themselves in our behavior at an unexpected moment in the unforeseeable future and become the source of further generation of negativity in our subconscious psyche.In addition to the unintentional collection of negative influences in our psyche, most people tend to intensify the effect by intentionally suppressing their emotions based on the idea that expression of emotions is a weakness and is frowned upon in our current societal paradigm. As a result, a profound effect is produced leading to an overstressed life.So what can be the remedy for this prevailing predicament? Based on the described phenomena, latest technological advancement has led us to tackle the problem directly at its root i.e. the subconscious mind.Brainwave entrainment is a technique that can be used to soothe the subconscious mind and neurological activity going on in form of brainwaves. Beta brainwaves have highest wave frequency and usual daily activities including mental and physical activities and interactions occur in beta state. Whenever high magnitudes of beta frequencies are detected, it represent state of restlessness and stress and at significantly higher electrical activity in brain, the frenzied beta brainwaves cause distracted and inattentive state of mind which requires to be mellowed down to lower frequency ranges of alpha or theta for a relaxed consciousness.The easiest way to lower the electrical frequency of the brain from beta to alpha and theta state is meditation with closed eyes and deep breathing. But it can also be achieved quickly by synchronizing brainwaves through external stimuli of beats and pulses of light or sound through Frequency Following Response (FFR) of brain. The FFR causes our natural disturbed brainwaves to lower down and synch up harmoniously producing a sense of relief,tranquility and relaxation. Thus, brainwave entrainment makes it easy to be stress free with no efforts except listening to entrainment audio for half an hour a day. A must try for every stressed soul!
Brainwave Entrainment Fundamentals.A common reason of why many people doubt the effects of brainwave entrainment is because the term itself sounds a bit scientific and incomprehensive. That's why we should look at some real life brain entrainment examples. You are probably asking yourself... What? Yes, the brain is meant to adapt, and it quickly changes its state, according to the surrounding environment. Let's take a look at this - when one first wakes up in the morning, they still feel rather sleepy (as their brain has been in a state of sleep); if, however, they look out of the window and see a fire burning in the next building, they will become very alert - the brain has quickly entrained itself to this new state. On the contrary, if the same person goes to a room full of sleepy people, it is likely that they will stay in this same state unless they do something different (make a cup of coffee, go out, etc.).
Scientists have found out that all these states of the mind can be measured, as one emanates certain brainwave patterns, easily detected with an EEG (encephalograph). The alpha brainwave patterns are the ones associated with physical and mental relaxation, while beta brainwaves are emitted during our usual state of alertness throughout the day. Theta brainwaves occur in a state of meditation, while delta brainwave patterns are the ones emanated by our brains during deep sleep. All these have the corresponding frequency, measured in pulses per second; i.e. alpha ranges between eight and twelve pulses per second (Hz), beta ranges between twelve and thirty pulses per second, etc.
To understand how binaural beats, monaural beats, and isochronic tones can improve your overall well-being at a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level a basic understanding of the electrochemical functions of the brain is necessary. Our brain is made up of billions of brain cells or neurons which use electricity to communicate with one another. The combination of millions of neurons sending signals all at the same time produces an enormous amount of electrical activity in the brain. This activity can be detected and mapped using EEG devices. Such mapping shows that the brain is emitting specific frequency brainwave patterns that relate directly to different mental processes all the way from wide awake and highly focused (beta) to deep, dreamless sleep (delta).Following are the 4 most common brainwave classifications as revealed by EEG devices. The brain is a dynamic, living organ. During these dominant patterns, other frequencies still exist and there is no exact, single frequency that our brain operates on.Frequency range Name Usually associated with:13 to 40 Hz Beta waves Active, busy or anxious thinking and active concentration. Throughout the day our brains are in the beta range. At this level we are active, busy, and all our emotional responses are at this level whether we are depressed, irritable, angry, happy, glad, full of energy etc.7 to 13 Hz Alpha waves When we begin to relax or begin to get drowsy, but are still awake and conscious (maybe at pre-sleep) we are said to be at the alpha level.4 to 7 Hz Theta waves Dreams, deep meditation, hypnosis.Defining Binaural Beats, Monaural Betas, and Isochronic Beats.Binaural Beats - Binaural beats require headphones if you want to see results. Binaural Beats work by broadcasting two separate frequencies in each ear. For example, if you want to tune your brain to a 7 Hz frequency, you could play 200 Hz in your right ear, and 207 Hz in your left ear. The brain will compensate for the difference between the two and produce a third tone that will be exactly 7 Hz. This will result in your brain frequency being lowered to the theta level of 7 Hz.Monaural Beats - Monaural beats are the opposite of binaural beats because the input is the same in each ear therefore you don't need headphones but good speakers are always a plus. In the case of monaural beats the sound is the same on each side whether you use headphones or speakers, but the volume must be tuned precisely (not too loud and not too low) for the beats to be effective.
Isochronic Tones - These are sharper sounding than monaural beats thus they are more powerful in their effect on the brain and are believed to be the most effective of the three.Binaural beats, monaural beats and isochronic tones by themselves are not very pleasant to listen to. This obstacle is overcome by embedding these beats/tones into soothing ambient music, nature sounds, the sounds of bells or chimes and so on.Is Most Brainwave Entrainment Music Dull And Monotonous? One thing you will notice right away about most brainwave music is it's usually made up of slow tempo ambient music, or new age meditation music, and sometimes classical orchestra music. And it is sometimes embedded with background noises such as static noises (white noise, brown noise, pink noise), or with nature sounds like that of birds, waves/ocean, rain, wind, thunderstorms, and also bells, chimes, flutes, and so on. In every case the important part of the music is the background beats (whether binaural beats, monaural beats, or isochronic beats) which need to be perceived by the brain throughout the recording otherwise it will be ineffective. All the other added stuff (ambient music, nature sounds, bells, chimes etc.) is only for the sake of making the background beats pleasant to listen too. If the music is very fast pace, such as in rock or pop music, or too loud the background binaural, monaural or isochronic beats are drowned out and not effective in entraining the brain.
So, does brainwave entrainment really work? All this being said, the actual question that should be asked here is whether brainwave entrainment audios can truly alter your brainwaves, bringing them to one of the above mentioned states (alpha, theta, etc). Again, with the use of the exact same machine - encephalograph (or simply EEG) - it has been proven that yes, they can. Of course, the efficacy of the different audios varies greatly between producers, but this is a whole different theme to explore. The point of this article is to clearly demonstrate that it has been scientifically and materialistically proven that brainwave entrainment audios can bring one's brain to a specifically designed state. Consequently, yes, brainwave entrainment does work in the sense that it can bring you to a state associated with deep meditation or deep sleep, which in turn can ensure further benefits such as improved memory, pain relief, and many more (again, you should rather explore the gains associated with the various brainwave patterns).
After several months of regular daily use of the same brainwave recording your mind gets accustomed to the stimuli and it becomes 2nd nature, giving the impression that the recording doesn't work anymore. The reason is your mind is strengthened in once neglected areas as new neural pathways are created and adjusted to the recording. Working your mind with brainwave recordings is similar to working your muscles. After a time a certain muscle, for example, no longer seems to be receiving any benefit from the same exercise which initially seemed very effective. The reason is the exercise served its purpose in bringing the muscle to its present much more healthy condition. The only way to add additional benefit to that muscle is to change the exercise around a little. This will produce long-term benefits. Likewise your mind gets stronger with time as you listen to brainwave recordings, but it reaches a point where a particular recording which once seemed so effective appears to be doing nothing anymore. However, if the recording is changed around a little it will produce additional, long-term results. And just as having a variety in your exercise routine, and even a variety in your diet, is better for your body. So likewise you will receive long-term benefit, and a more balanced mind, by listening to a variety of brainwave entrainment recordings.For this reason some companies sell several CD recordings contained in one program with specific instructions on when to listen to certain recordings, and for how long, before switching to the next level of recordings. They do it this way so you receive the optimal benefits the recordings offer. And just as it is not a good idea to stuff yourself with a variety of different foods at once, or to exercise too much all at once, so likewise it is good to start with one level of recordings, giving your mind time to adjust to that recording before moving to the next level.
