The phenomena of binaural beats and brainwave entrainment can induce the same mental state associated with traditional meditation practice, but quickly.
The brain has been called a “random thought generator.”
Experts estimate that we think up to 70,000 thoughts per day and that 70% of them are negative.
Negative thoughts cause chronic stress which actually changes the function and structure of the brain.
Chronic stress also causes myriad mental and physical health problems.
An audio technology called binaural beats can help quiet the mind quickly and relieve stress by inducing the kind of brainwave states experienced during meditation.
Using Binaural Beats for Meditation
Every thought we have changes neural pathways and the output of brain chemicals, creating a cascade of effects on mental health and emotional well-being.
One of the most effective ways to control negative thinking is with meditation.
Over 1,000 studies have shown that meditation can make you healthier, smarter, and happier.
Regular meditation can reduce stress, stimulate new brain cell formation, and slow down the rate of brain cell aging.
“ Listening to binaural beats can reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol by as much as 70% and increase the sleep hormone melatonin by nearly 100%.
But anyone who has tried to do meditation can tell you that quieting the mind is not easy.
It can take years to master the process.
For those who struggle with focus and concentration, meditation can be frustrating and can become an additional source of stress.
In the past 50 years, technologies have been developed that can induce the same brainwave states as meditation.
All it takes is listening to the sounds produced by these technologies.
One of the most popular forms of sound technology used for this purpose is known as binaural beats.
Using binaural beats technology creates the same brainwave states as meditation, but it takes virtually no effort on your part and you can experience positive results much faster.
Understanding Binaural Beats: Brainwaves and Entrainment
To fully understand binaural beats, you need to know a few basics about brainwaves and a concept called brainwave entrainment.
Brain cells generate electricity as a way to communicate with each other.
This electrical activity forms patterns known as brainwaves.
These patterns can be measured by electroencephalography (EEG), a method of recording electrical activity via electrodes attached to the scalp.
Scientists have found five main patterns of brainwaves:
Each brainwave state is associated with a different state of consciousness.
We normally go in and out of the various brainwave states throughout the day depending on what we are experiencing.
But it’s possible to manipulate brainwaves into a desired pattern via meditation, binaural beats, or other kinds of sound technology.
Binaural beats cause the brain to synchronize, or entrain, its electrical activity to the beat frequency.
This has the effect of inducing a desired brainwave pattern, letting us experience the benefits of that brainwave state at will.
Here’s a brief rundown on the characteristics of each brainwave pattern.
Delta Brainwaves (below 4 Hz)
Delta waves are the lowest frequency brainwave and occur during deep, dreamless, restorative sleep.
During sleep, the brain is not simply resting, it’s cycling through 5 stages of sleep and associated brainwave patterns.
Theta Brainwaves (4 – 7 Hz)
Theta waves are associated with the drowsy state we experience as we are falling asleep, or during light sleep.
They can also be experienced during meditation.
The theta state is characterized by deep relaxation, daydreaming, and creativity.
It is also the brainwave state experienced during hypnosis.
Alpha Brainwaves (8 – 15 Hz)
The brain enters the alpha brainwave state almost immediately whenever we close our eyes.
Alpha waves are associated with relaxed wakefulness and can occur during light meditation.
Many brainwave meditations seek to induce this state since the alpha state is thought to facilitate a bridge between conscious thought and the unconscious mind.
Beta Brainwaves (16 – 31 Hz)
As long as we are physically active and mentally alert, we probably spend most of our waking day in a beta state.
Since the hallmark of the beta state is one of heightened alertness, it can be overdone.
Spending too much time in the beta state contributes to stress and anxiety.
Gamma Brainwaves (32 Hz and above)
Gamma brainwaves (not to be confused with gamma rays) are the highest frequency brainwaves.
They are the most recently discovered since they could not be measured until the development of digital electroencephalography (EEG).
They are also the least understood.
When in the gamma brainwave state, it is thought that the senses are sharpened and that feelings of happiness and peace predominate.
This is the brainwave state we tap into whenever we’re in “the zone,” the state of peak performance and blissful immersion.
Heightened focus, super concentration, and exceptional productivity are all characteristics of the gamma state.
Using EEG, researchers have found that Buddhist monks who are seasoned meditators can induce a gamma state during meditation.
Brainwave Entrainment: A Natural Phenomenon
The phenomenon of entrainment was discovered by a Dutch scientist over four hundred years ago.
He noticed that his room full of pendulum clocks synchronized automatically.
Even when he intentionally disrupted their rhythms, they would always re-synchronize.
Brainwave entrainment is a high-tech sounding name for a very natural phenomenon.
If you’ve ever been mesmerized by the sound of ocean waves or a crackling fire, you’ve experienced brainwave entrainment.
Entrainment is commonly seen in nature.
Fireflies entrain their flashing lights and frogs entrain their croaking.
When you listen to sounds of a certain frequency, your brainwaves will synchronize with that frequency.
You entrain every time you hear a musical beat that has you bobbing your head or tapping your foot.
Binaural beats is one of the most popular methods to utilize the phenomenon of brainwave entrainment.
Other technologies include isochronic tones, monaural beats, and audiovisual entrainment.
By listening to sound files that produce brainwave entrainment, you can induce a desired brainwave pattern quickly and reliably.
How Binaural Beats Work
Humans can generally hear sound frequencies in the range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
This means that our brainwave frequencies mostly fall below our audible range.
So how can our brains entrain to sounds we can’t hear?
The binaural beats phenomenon provides a clever workaround. (Binaural means “two ears.”)
When two tones slightly dissimilar in frequency are processed by the brain, it registers a beat at the difference of the frequencies.
The diagram below illustrates how this works.
If we listen to a 124 Hz sound in the left ear, and a 114 Hz sound in the right, our brains entrain to the difference — in this case, to 10 Hz, which is in the alpha brainwave frequency range.
Since each ear has to perceive a different frequency for binaural beats to be created, binaural beats are best experienced when the two tones are heard through stereo headphones.
Listening to these sounds triggers numerous beneficial mechanisms.
Besides altering brainwave patterns, listening to binaural beats can increase brain connectivity and resilience to physical and psychological stress.
It can change our biochemistry by modulating the production of hormones and neurotransmitters.
Listening to binaural beats can reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol by as much as 70% and increase the sleep hormone melatonin by nearly 100%.
Binaural beats has been shown to increase levels of dopamine, the neurotransmitter of motivation.
The Advantage of Binaural Beats Meditation Over Traditional Meditation
MindValley, one of the world’s largest personal development publishers, surveyed their customers to understand “why people don’t meditate.”
Their customers were certainly aware of the benefits of meditation — that meditation can reduce negative mental chatter to decrease stress and improve mental well-being and overall health and performance.
So what obstacles stood in their way?
According to the 400,000+ people who responded to Mindvalley’s survey, the main reasons people don’t stick with a traditional meditation practice are:
- They can’t tame their mental chatter.
- They can’t focus.
- They feel physically restless.
- It takes too long to get the desired results.
Do any of these reasons sound like anything you’ve experienced?
I’ve felt that way too.
Using binaural beats provides an easy shortcut to a meditative state.
All you have to do is put on a set of headphones or earbuds, relax, and listen.
Evidence-Based Benefits of Binaural Beats
The study of brainwave manipulation for the enhancement of brain health and mental well-being is in its infancy.
But so far, over 130 studies on the use of binaural beats have been published in the US National Institutes of Health database.
So far, one study, A Comprehensive Review of the Psychological Effects of Brainwave Entrainment, is often cited as the gold standard on the effectiveness of brainwave entrainment technology.
This meta-analysis of peer-reviewed studies found that brainwave entrainment technologies, including binaural beats, are beneficial for:
- Alzheimer’s
- anger
- anxiety
- attention deficit
- behavioral disorders
- cognitive decline
- creativity
- dementia
- depression
- headaches
- intelligence
- learning disabilities
- learning disorders
- memory
- mental disorders
- migraines
- pain
- premenstrual syndrome
- sleep
- stress
- verbal learning
Impressively, just one session of brainwave entrainment meditation was found to be helpful for some conditions that involved memory, attention, stress, pain, headaches, and migraines.
This study concluded that:
“People suffering from cognitive functioning deficits, stress, pain, headache/migraines, PMS, and behavioral problems benefited from BWE. However, more controlled trials are needed to test additional protocols with outcomes.”
You can read or download a copy of the study here.
Additional studies have confirmed that binaural beats are helpful for:
- anxiety
- attention
- chronic pain
- cognitive flexibility
- creativity
- depression
- high blood pressure
- memory
- Parkinson’s disease
- sleep
- stress
- tinnitus
Getting Started With Binaural Beats Meditation
If you’ve never heard the sound of isolated binaural beats before, click on the arrow below to play a sample.
Ideally, you should listen with headphones to get the full effect, but, even without them, you will get a general idea of what binaural beats sound like.
Listen to the sound of binaural beats. File courtesy of Wikipedia.
This sound is not very pleasant, which is why most binaural beats meditation sound files are overlaid with music or environmental sounds.
Some binaural beats tracks seek to bring about a particular state associated with meditation — usually alpha or theta, or sometimes the gamma state.
Others are designed to help alleviate specific problems or achieve specific goals.
There are binaural beats audios designed to induce sleep, reduce anxiety, aid weight loss, or enhance concentration.
One of the most unusual, and controversial, uses of binaural beats technology is to encourage lucid dreaming, a state of consciousness in which dreamers are aware that they are dreaming, to purportedly achieve various cognitive and emotional benefits.
There are free binaural beats meditation audios available online.
Be aware that some are better than others and that binaural beats meditations are not a one-size-fits-all remedy.
For example, lower frequency ranges are best for relaxation and pain reduction, while higher frequency beats in the beta and gamma range are useful for memory improvement.
We recommend Binaural Beats Meditation.
You can download four of their most popular meditations for free.
They offer a wide selection of binaural beats meditations to help you relax, sleep, and cope with many specific health conditions.
They also have programs to help you achieve aspirational goals, such as increasing motivation and sticking with healthy habits.
Warnings Regarding Binaural Beats
Some websites that sell binaural beats meditations claim that they “can’t” be dangerous because they produce brainwave states that naturally occur.
But this is faulty logic since your body can activate many responses or create chemicals that, in excess, can do you harm.
And while binaural beats are generally considered safe for most people, there are a few exceptions.
There is some concern that listening to binaural beats could be a problem for anyone who has epilepsy, an irregular heartbeat, or wears a pacemaker.
Since brainwaves and heart rhythms are both electrical patterns, it is theoretically possible that listening to binaural beats could trigger seizures or disrupt heartbeat rhythm in susceptible people.
Pregnant women and children should avoid binaural beats applications since safety has not been determined for them.
If you have a serious mental disorder or brain injury, discuss binaural beats meditations with your doctor before giving them a try.
If you experience any negative effects while listening to a binaural beats meditation, such as headache, nausea, dizziness, or increased heartbeat, stop using it immediately.
Traditional meditation may be the appropriate approach in this situation.
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