Brainwave entrainment is a method to stimulate the brain into entering a specific state by using a pulsing sound, light, or electromagnetic field. The pulses elicit the brain’s ‘frequency following’ response, encouraging the brainwaves to align to the frequency of a given beat.
listening meditation | relaxing tunes
Researching how to cure sleep disorder has brought out a bit of very interesting information. Chemical medications, over the counter or prescription are dangerously addictive, and their effectiveness is lost after a few weeks of use… by then, dependency is the most evident. But there are other methods known. To set the stage for the explanation of how they work, let’s imagine driving down a long, lonely stretch of road.
As the white dotted line of the road passes under us, we see them pass in our sight, and the brain and heart picks up on the “beats” of them going by. Eventually, a driver’s heart rate and brainwave patterns follow suit, and the motorist can then be dangerously lulled into drowsiness. This can also be how to cure insomnia and other sleep disorder problems. Using audio therapy, there are many methods, some which work better than others. Those that use hypnotic or subliminal suggestions are of the type that works with the least effectiveness, if at all.
But hose that use tones and pulses to speak to the brain like in the illustration above have proven the most effective. One method which gained popularity for a time is known as binaural audio therapy. Two very similar sets of tones and pulses with frequencies slightly out of sync with each other are sent one each to each ear, causing the desired brainwave activity to induce sleep when the brain processes these as one signal.
The obvious handicap with this is however, is the discomfort of sleeping with stereo headsets on, hoping they don’t get knocked off during sleep and waking up all over again. This proved to be more than slightly counterproductive. The latest in this technological work to find a treatment for sleep disorder is the use of isochronic tones and pulses which require no stereo equipment. Insomnia sufferers who use this method find themselves sleeping within 10-15 minutes.
Brainwave entrainment is a method to stimulate the brain into entering a specific state by using a pulsing sound, light, or electromagnetic field. The pulses elicit the brain’s ‘frequency following’ response, encouraging the brainwaves to align to the frequency of a given beat.
This ‘frequency following’ response of brainwave entrainment can be seen in action with those prone to epilepsy. If a strobe flashes at their seizure frequency, the brain will ‘entrain’ to the flashing light, resulting in a seizure.
On the positive side, this same mechanism is commonly used to induce many brainwave states; such as a trance, enhanced focus, relaxation, meditation or sleep induction. The brainwave entrainment effectively pushes the entire brain into a certain state.
Brainwave entrainment works for almost everyone. It is a great way to lead your mind into states that you might usually have difficulty reaching, allowing you to experience what those states feel like.
THE HYPE
There is a lot of marketing hype around brainwave entrainment. It is sold with promises of increasing IQ, promoting weight loss, ‘mind-tripping’, enhancing creativity, concentration, inducing spiritual states and more.
While these claims are not entirely true, they are not altogether false either. In practice, the claims are based on an overly-simplistic view of how the brain and the brainwaves function.
THE RUB
People are very seldom deficient in a certain brainwave type in all areas of their brain. Usually the distribution is much spottier, with an excess in one area and a deficiency in another.
We are all different, especially when it comes to the distribution of our brainwaves. Boosting a certain brainwave state may be beneficial for one person, and emotionally uncomfortable for another. Without knowing each person’s starting position, entrainment can be rather ‘hit and miss’.
If brainwave entrainment leaves you with unwanted side-effects (see below) or discomfort, you’re probably encouraging a range of brainwaves that are already excessive in some area of your brain. The way around this is to get a brain map to see what your brain’s strengths and weaknesses are, and see what (if any) brainwaves could use some encouragement.