No one can deny that sounds can generate a determined state of mind and that listening to certain types of music can be a relaxing experience, or not. Our brains are wired for music and simply tinking about music is sufficient for activating many cerebral areas. This is the reason why Beethoven and Bedřich Smetana, although deaf were able to compose great symphonies with imagination as a resource.
There is a body of research that shows that classical music seems to prime our brains for certain kinds of thinking highly correlated to general intelligence or cognitive aptitude, and also affects us on a molecular level. Listening to classical music can activate the pathways we use for spatial reasoning, this is known as “The Mozart Effect”.
Music also alters the brain structure and function on a genetic and molecular level, enhancing genes activity involved in dopamine secretion (I feeeeel good), transport synaptic function, learning, and memory, as well as down-regulating genes that can be associated with neurodegenerative diseases. The wonderful thing about all this is that we can listen to music as often as we like and it can be therapeutical in levels we never imagined.
But can sound frequencies directly influence the behavior of our brain, beyond simple entertainment or spatial reasoning and change our state of consciousness?
What are Brainwaves?
"The human brain has 100 billion neurons and 300 trillion constantly changing connections. At the root of all our thoughts, emotions and behaviors are the communication between neurons within our brains. Brain waves are produced by synchronized electrical pulses from masses of neurons communicating with each other. Brain wave is repetitive or rhythmic neural activity in the brain. Brain waves are classified into five bands – delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma – with different frequencies. Consciousness is a function of the frequencies in these bands."
In 1839 Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, a German scientist ( physicist and meteorologist), discovered, with the help of tuning forks, that when signals from two different frequencies are presented separately - one for each ear - the brain detects the phase variation and tries to reconcile that difference by synchronizing the functioning of the left and right hemispheres.
Some studies depend on other discoveries and inventions.
So, in 1924, Hans Berger, a German psychiatrist, invented a device called the electroencephalogram (EEG), used to measure brain waves. Brain waves are detected using sensors placed on the scalp and are divided into bandwidths. The speed of brain waves is measured in Hertz (cycles per second) and they are divided into bands that delineate slow, moderate, and fast waves that are associated with different types of mental activity.
Later, Gerald Oster, a biophysicist, published in 1973 a research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, proving that auditory stimulation with signals from two different frequencies improved brain function.
Auditory beat stimulation (ABS)
These sound frequencies are called binaural beats, the phenomenon is known as entrainment and is like an optical illusion but for sound. The relationship of these sounds to brainwave modulation seems to be related to changes in states of consciousness — concentration, relaxation, deep sleep, meditation, etc.
We grab our headphones, put a binaural beat and press play. The sound we will listen is split into two distinct sine waves, one that plays in the left ear at 510 Hz, and the other that plays at 500 Hz in the right ear, our brainwave patterns will then passively mimic the difference in frequency between the two original waves – in this case, 10 Hz.
There are few studies in the field that demonstrate the influence of binaural beats on our wellbeing, the autonomic nervous system, or which brain networks are affected by them. Hopefully, there will be more in the near future. Neuroscience is a promising field and is making significant progress in understanding brain structure and function.
What we know is that there is a huge binaural beat market, some researches being made, other researches are already reviewed in this website, and that Bayer, the pharmaceutical company, released seven of binaural beats tracks on its Austrian website, under the title “Good Vibes for our brain – powered by Aspirin”. Source When an established company of this size grabs on something considered alternative like it's happening with cryptos, we can deduce that there is something real going on...I think!
This illusory phenomenon is not exclusive to Binaural beats
Monaural beats are similar to binaural beats, although they are combined into a single sound before it reaches the human ears, and as opposed to binaural beat, they most often occur in nature and form the basis for musical chords. Binaural tones, often come from man-made objects that produce noise, such as engines, or specific software programs. Monaural beats can be more practical because they don't require the use of headphones in order to be effective.
Isochronic tones use just one tone that repeatedly pulsates in a pattern, the speed of the pulse depends on the frequency used. Like monaural beats, there's no need to use headphones.
Benefits of Auditory Beat Stimulation
Some benefits we can find online and that already were researched are anxiety reduction, increase focus and concentration, stress attenuation, increase relaxation, increment in positive moods, creativity promotion, and pain management.
There's a study conducted by Dr. Vincent Giampapa where it was observed that 68% of the participants while using binaural beats therapy had increased the levels of DHEA (this hormone affects how a person ages and resists disease), also a significative reduction of cortisol of up to 70-80% was observed ( High levels of cortisol can lead to a range of conditions, including Cushing syndrome, menstrual cycle, and female libido changes, anxiety, and depression), and an average increase of melatonin of 97.77% (melatonin is a hormone that plays a role in restful sleep patterns). Source
Which Is Most Effective?
Personally, I like the combination of all so it depends on personal taste, age, gender and the overall feeling they give. I find pure binaural beats annoying and they make me anxious, but when combined with monaural beats, isochronic tones, and/or ambient sounds, it's very effective. It also depends on the volume, it has to be comfortable, because we don't need to hear the beats loud to benefit from them.
Another thing I noticed is that when I drink a good amount of water they can produce a stronger effect, our brain likes water.
The audio quality is extremely important and there's a wide variety of free beats out there, some good others with horrible quality.
Always avoid using auditory beat therapy while doing tasks that require alertness and full attention, such as driving.
Like any other exercise the results may not be immediate, experts recommend a 15 to 30-minutes of daily audition in order to ensure the maximum potential of the auditory beat stimulation.
Science might not yet be able to fully explain the effects of auditory beat stimulation, but you can try it! I want to invite you to drink a generous glass of water, find a quiet place, grab those headphones, press play, adjust your volume so it's comfortable, and write your next Steemit post with one of my favorite binaural tracks by Meditative Mind. Let's do this research. Feedback is welcome and appreciated (:
All References in the links