Brainwave Entrainment or How to Rest Your Mind

How to shut or slow down the hamster wheel of a gifted mind?  This is question I’ve been asked and have sometimes asked myself.  Truthfully, it’s only recently that I’ve become aware of the potential for my brain to ramp up – intellectually and emotionally.  Totally randomly, I came across brainwave entrainment through binaural beats.  I had never heard of such a thing but here’s an overview of how it can help rest your mind…

Brainwave Entrainment

We have different brainwaves that track at different frequencies.  Brainwaves can be affected by external stimuli and induced into patterns associated with sleep, being relaxed etc.  Visual and auditory stimuli can shift a person’s brainwaves into more regulated patterns.

Binaural Beats

Binaural beats are a form of stimuli to slow down your brain.  Apparently, if a person listens to a sound at 100Hz in one ear (for example) and a sound of  104Hz in the other ear, the brain creates a response for the difference between the two: binaural beats.  If you pitch two sounds exactly 4Hz apart  , the 4Hz beat created by your brain is similar to the natural brainwave pattern while sleeping.  The threshold of binaural beats is below the spectrum of how people are able to hear but you still feel the effect.

I cribbed the brainwave chart above from wikipedia.  Begs the obvious question about the association between intelligence and anxiety.  Binaural beats generally target some combination of Alpha and Theta waves.

Brainwave entrainment and binaural beats are used in controlled scientific environments such as neurology, audiology, sleep disorders as well mild anxiety and depression.  They’re also used to induce a relaxed or meditative state in spiritual environments, such as tribal and native drumming.  I’m generally a skeptic but I’m equally curious so when I read about binaural beats I went to You Tube and put this on Infinite Sleep – Binaural expecting no effect, just wondering what it would sound like but I’ll be damned if it didn’t affect me.  It’s hard to explain what it feels like other than to say my brain felt slower, calmer and clearer.  I’ve also tried a couple of additional different theta binaural beats before sleeping and I felt more clear headed when I woke up. Personally, I generally don’t have trouble falling asleep though I am told theta waves binaural beats can also aid in falling asleep.  Everyone I know who has listened to binaural beats has felt some effect calmer, sleepier or more clear headed depending on the binaural beat though the degree depended on the person and what they were listening to.  But everyone felt something.

So check it out.**   Much better if you use headphone but I felt an effect even without them.  There is lots of choice of binaural beats on the internet, including You Tube but the quality varies widely.  Here’s another option for a wide variety of sounds – I can’t promise you’ll achieve the astro-projection or prosperity the site offers but they do have a wide variety of brainwave entrainment options: Click Here!

** Note: This is not medical advice.  I have read that brainwave entrainment is not harmful; however, please do you own due diligence and note that it is not recommended for people with epilepsy.