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.
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There are numerous benefits to regular meditation, including reduced stress levels, increased focus, enhanced creativity, improved memory, and a sense of peace and well being. However, learning to achieve a meditative state sufficient to maximize these benefits can take months and even years of practice. Fortunately, there is a technology known as binaural beats that can provide a shortcut, as we will see below.
Advanced states of meditation actually produce changes in the brainwaves of the practitioner. Indeed, this altered state is the goal of meditation, and is responsible for many of the positive results of regular practice. A much quicker way to achieve these brainwave changes is through the use of binaural beats. Meditation using binaural beats is a shortcut to achieving the desired altered state, and is thus a great meditation technique for beginners.
Binaural beats work through the use of two individual tones, one in each ear, delivered by use of stereo headphones. The tones vary in frequency, and the difference between the two produces a third tone in the brain of the listener. This third tone allows the brainwaves to quickly correspond to this frequency, thus reaching the desired state in a matter of minutes.
The technology of binaural beats takes advantage of the fact that the true benefits of meditation are only achieved when the bran waves reach certain frequencies. Our brain waves can be measured in Hertz (Hz) – a measurement of frequency, or cycles per second. Different frequency ranges correspond to different brain wave states (Beta, Alpha, Theta, etc.) These different brain wave patterns determine your mental state – your state of consciousness, if you prefer.
For example, a frequency of 13-40 Hz, known as Beta waves, is generally associated with active, busy or anxious thinking and active concentration, arousal, cognition. Theta waves (4-7 Hz) are associated with dreams, deep meditation, and REM sleep.
By listening to slightly different sine wave tones in each ear using stereo headphones, the brain essentially creates a third tone, which is the difference between the left and right tones. For example, if a tone of 410Hz is played in one ear, with a tone of 400Hz in the other, the difference between the two is 10Hz, which becomes the frequency of the “beat.” (This corresponds to the alpha state as seen above.) Our brain waves will conform to this beat frequency, allowing a relaxed meditative state to be achieved in minutes! As the beat frequency changes, our brain responds in kind. By utilizing precise frequencies in the tones in each ear, the frequency of the beat tone, and thus the brain state, can be controlled.
As we have seen, binaural beats meditation can allow the user to achieve advanced meditative states much more quickly and easily. This makes binaural beats a great meditation technique for beginners and seasoned practitioners alike. The ability to pinpoint specific frequencies allows the user of binaural meditation to target specific desired states, greatly enhancing the experience of meditation.
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.