Your brain operates with five different kinds of waves. These brain waves control your thoughts, emotions, and actions through electrical activity.
Low-frequency waves are involved in sleep, while higher frequency waves control concentration and memory.
Altering your brain waves is one aspect of mental health and wellness treatment that many providers and patients find effective.
Binaural beats are one method of controlling brain waves to help you reach a certain mental state, typically one of meditation and relaxation.
Could binaural beats be the right addition to your healthy lifestyle? Keep reading to find out.
What Are Binaural Beats?
A binaural beat is when you hear a different tone in each ear and your brain processes two different frequencies.
As you listen, the idea is that your brain will adapt to the different beats and will sync with the difference in frequencies. Then, you’re hearing both of the original tones in addition to the frequency difference between them.
This sounds complicated, but binaural beats are most often listened to via music specifically created to produce the effect.
Benefits of Binaural Beats
When it comes to your brain health, binaural beats may be a good way to help you find calmness and the opportunity to relax.
While research is limited on the effectiveness of the beats, you may notice that listening to them produces a meditative state. Meditation offers a wide range of health benefits.
That includes easing stress and anxiety, promoting focus and concentration, and increasing relaxation. It can also boost mood, reduce feelings of pain, and enhance creativity and cognition.
How to Listen to Binaural Beats
Most people listen to prepared binaural beats, rather than creating them on their own. For them to work as expected, both tones must be under 1000 Hz and there must be a difference between them of no more than 30 Hz.
You can find a variety of binaural soundtracks online and can download them to your device. Then all you’ll need is a set of earbuds or headphones so that you can listen.
Most experts suggest listening to the beats for about 30 minutes to get the full effect. Many people like to combine them with other forms of meditation, such as a full moon ceremony.
Choosing Binaural Beats
Remember that your brain has several kinds of waves. The goal of your beats session plays a role in which ones you target.
For sleep and relaxation, choose beats that are in the delta or theta range. The theta range has the added benefit of also reducing anxiety.
Alpha frequencies promote relaxation and can calm anxiety. Choose beta frequencies to encourage creativity, improve memory and boost concentration and focus.
Getting Started
When your goal is optimal health, taking care of your brain is just as important as staying physically fit. Binaural beats may be what you’re looking for to help you get into the brain state you need.
Whether you want to focus on a project, get better sleep, or control symptoms of anxiety, these beats may be a good addition to your treatment plan. Talk it over with your doctor before getting started since the research is limited.
Before you go, check out all of our helpful advice for staying healthy and enjoying life.
