What are binaural beats?
Binaural sounds occur when you hear two tones, one in each earWhat are they slightly different in frequency. When you hear both sounds simultaneously, your brain processes a third sound in the frequency difference.
This is called a pulse or binaural beat.
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Here’s an example:
Let’s say you’re hearing a sound in your left ear that has a frequency of 132 Hertz (Hz). And in her right ear, she is hearing a sound that has a frequency of 121Hz. However, his brain gradually synchronizes with the difference, that is, 11 Hz.
Instead of hearing two different tones, you hear one tone at 11 Hz (in addition to the two tones given to each ear).
Binaural beats are considered auditory illusions.
For a binaural beat to work, both tones must have frequencies less than 1000 Hz, and the difference between the two tones cannot be higher than 30 Hz.
the tones too must be heard separatelyone through each ear.
Binaural beats have been explored in music and are sometimes used to help tune instruments, such as pianos and organs. More recently, they have been associated with possible health benefits.
What health benefits are binaural beats said to have?
It is claimed that binaural beats induce the same mental state associated with a meditation practice or the use of certain drugs, but much faster. Indeed, it is said that binaural beats serve to:
- reduce anxiety
- increase focus and concentration
- lower stress
- increase relaxation
- encourage positive moods
- promote creativity
- help control pain
Meditation is the practice of calming the mind and reducing the number of random thoughts that run through it.
A regular meditation practice has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, slow down the rate of brain aging and memory loss, promote emotional health, and lengthen attention span.
Practicing meditation regularly can be quite difficult, which is why people have turned to technology for help.
Binaural beats are supposed to between 1 and 30Hz create the same pattern of brain waves that one would experience during meditation.
When you hear a sound with a certain frequency, your brain waves will sync up to that frequency.
The theory is that binaural beats can help create the necessary frequency so that your brain creates the same waves that are commonly experienced during a meditation practice. Using binaural beats in this way is sometimes called brainwave entrainment technology.
How are binaural beats used?
All you need to experiment with binaural beats is a binaural beat audio and a pair of headphones or earphones.
You can easily find audio files of binaural beats online, such as on YouTube, or you can purchase CDs or download audio files directly to your mp3 player or other device.
Here I leave you an example on Youtube of binaural waves to self-heal and have accelerated body regeneration.
As mentioned above, for a binaural beat to work, the two tones must have frequencies of less than 1000 Hz, and the difference between the two tones cannot be higher than 30 Hz.
However, since they are supposed to serve multiple purposes, you will first need to decide which brain wave suits your desired state. Usually:
- Binaural beats in the delta range (1 to 4 Hz) have been associated with deep sleep and relaxation.
- Binaural beats in the theta range (4 to 8 Hz) are related to the REM sleep, reducing anxiety, relaxation, as well as meditative and creative states.
- Binaural beats at alpha frequencies (8 to 13 Hz) it is believed that they encourage relaxation, promote positivity and decrease anxiety.
- Binaural beats at beta frequencies lower ones (14 to 30 Hz) are used to increase concentration and alertness, problem solving and memory improvement.
Find a comfortable place free from distractions. Simply listen to the audio of the binaural beat during at least 30 minutes each day in your headphones to make sure the beat is in sync (synchronized) throughout your brain.
You can experiment with the amount of time you listen to the binaural beats to find out what works best for you.
For example, if you experience high levels of anxiety or stress, you may want to listen to the audio for a full hour or more. Remember, you must wear headphones for the binaural beats to work.
You may also want to listen with the closed eyes.
Is there any research to back up the claims?
While most studies on the effects of binaural beats have been small, there are several that provide evidence that this auditory illusion is in fact has health benefits especially related to anxiety, mood, and performance.
A blind study in 29 people found that listening to binaural beats in the beta range (16 and 24Hz) was associated with both better performance on a given task and reduced negative moods compared to listening to binaural beats in theta and delta range (1.5 and 4 Hz) or simple white noise.
Another controlled study in about 100 people about to have surgery also found that binaural beats were able to significantly reduce preoperative anxiety compared to similar audio without the binaural tones and no audio at all. In the study, anxiety levels were cut in half for people who listened to the binaural beat audio.
Other uncontrolled study asked eight adults to listen to a binaural beat CD with delta beat frequencies (1 to 4 Hz) for 60 days straight. Participants completed surveys before and after the 60-day period asking about their mood and quality of life. The results of the study found that listening to binaural beats for 60 days significantly reduced anxiety and increased overall quality of life for these participants.
Since the study was small, uncontrolled, and relied on patient surveys to collect data, larger studies will be needed to confirm these effects.
One bigger and newer randomized controlled trial looked at the use of binaural beats in 291 patients admitted to a hospital emergency department. The researchers observed significant decreases in anxiety levels in patients exposed to audio with integrated binaural beats compared with those who heard audio without binaural beats or without audio (headphones only).
Are there side effects to listening to binaural beats?
There are no known side effects from listening to binaural beatsbut you’ll want to make sure the sound level coming through your headphones isn’t set too high.
prolonged exposure to sounds of 85 decibels or higher can cause hearing loss over time.
This is approximately the noise level produced by the heavy traffic at taco hour.
binaural beat technology could be a problem if you have epilepsyso you should talk to your doctor before trying them.
For now, more research is needed to see if there are any side effects of listening to binaural beats for a long period of time, as these have not been observed so far.
The bottom line
With several human studies to back up the health claims, binaural beats appear to be a promising tool in the fight against anxiety, stress and negative mental states.
Research has found that daily listening to CDs or audio files with binaural beats has positive effects on:
- anxiety
- memory
- mood
- creativity
- attention
Becoming a meditation master is not easy. Binaural beats will not work for everyone and are not considered a cure for any particular condition. However, they can offer a perfect escape for those interested in relaxing, sleep more peacefully or enter a meditative state.