Does Brainwave Entrainment Work?

By Toms Sousa Lima


Stress has become the most common dilemma of a modern contemporary life. The prevalence of emotional, mental, physical and social pressures, developing with everyday hassles of expectations around performance, has risen to its greatest degree ever in history. The lives of most individuals living in this fast-paced world have become more complex and demanding than ever. It leads to feelings of overwhelm and responses like agitation, frustration, depression, irritability etc causing an overall deterioration of the quality of life.
[Brain Entrainment]


Stress is the product of a body's unfavorable and undesirable responses to the said stimuli that keep on accumulating in the subconscious mind. These responses exhibit themselves in our behavior at an unexpected moment in the unforeseeable future and become the source of further generation of negativity in our subconscious psyche.In addition to the unintentional collection of negative influences in our psyche, most people tend to intensify the effect by intentionally suppressing their emotions based on the idea that expression of emotions is a weakness and is frowned upon in our current societal paradigm. As a result, a profound effect is produced leading to an overstressed life.So what can be the remedy for this prevailing predicament? Based on the described phenomena, latest technological advancement has led us to tackle the problem directly at its root i.e. the subconscious mind.Brainwave entrainment is a technique that can be used to soothe the subconscious mind and neurological activity going on in form of brainwaves. Beta brainwaves have highest wave frequency and usual daily activities including mental and physical activities and interactions occur in beta state. Whenever high magnitudes of beta frequencies are detected, it represent state of restlessness and stress and at significantly higher electrical activity in brain, the frenzied beta brainwaves cause distracted and inattentive state of mind which requires to be mellowed down to lower frequency ranges of alpha or theta for a relaxed consciousness.The easiest way to lower the electrical frequency of the brain from beta to alpha and theta state is meditation with closed eyes and deep breathing. But it can also be achieved quickly by synchronizing brainwaves through external stimuli of beats and pulses of light or sound through Frequency Following Response (FFR) of brain. The FFR causes our natural disturbed brainwaves to lower down and synch up harmoniously producing a sense of relief,tranquility and relaxation. Thus, brainwave entrainment makes it easy to be stress free with no efforts except listening to entrainment audio for half an hour a day. A must try for every stressed soul!

Brainwave Entrainment Fundamentals.A common reason of why many people doubt the effects of brainwave entrainment is because the term itself sounds a bit scientific and incomprehensive. That's why we should look at some real life brain entrainment examples. You are probably asking yourself... What? Yes, the brain is meant to adapt, and it quickly changes its state, according to the surrounding environment. Let's take a look at this - when one first wakes up in the morning, they still feel rather sleepy (as their brain has been in a state of sleep); if, however, they look out of the window and see a fire burning in the next building, they will become very alert - the brain has quickly entrained itself to this new state. On the contrary, if the same person goes to a room full of sleepy people, it is likely that they will stay in this same state unless they do something different (make a cup of coffee, go out, etc.).

When the brain is exposed to a frequency, it undergoes a Cortical Evoked Response, where it emits an electrical charge in response to the stimulus. The predominant brainwave frequency is said to move towards the frequency of the stimulus, matching its frequency.Pulses and patterns of neural activity move through the brain in waves in a dynamic ocean of subtle electrical matter at all times. These patterns of electrical activity are called brainwaves and are responsible for different states of consciousness.

A Bit of Science.What brainwave entrainment claims to do is that it can, with the help of specifically designed audios (recently visual materials have been introduced, too) bring the brain to one of these specific states (alpha, beta, theta, etc.). Once the brain is brought to that state, the person reaps the benefits associated with it; to illustrate, it has been medically and scientifically proven that deep sleep triggers growth and body healing. It is quite logical, too, as otherwise our bodies would not have been 'constructed' with the natural need to fall into sleep for at least a couple of hours every single night. What this all means is that brainwave entrainment does not 'magically' make you more relaxed or more creative, or heal your migraine.

The brain rapidly entrains motor responses to auditory rhythms that are stable and steady, synchronizing states below and above conscious perception thresholds.Different Methods of Brainwave Entrainment.There are three main forms of entrainment used today to alter consciousness.BINAURAL BEATS-one frequency is played in one ear and a slightly different frequency is played in the other. Each ear is connected to the opposite side of the brain and when each half hears something different, it compensates by creating a third beat, that is not really there. The sound only exists in your brain and causes both hemispheres to entrain at a single frequency.

It takes 8 to 10 minutes to begin entraining. Because binaural beats don't entrain the thalamus, most of its effectiveness is in dissociation, making them good for meditative states, altering subconscious messages, and pain.MONAURAL BEATS-two tones are combined to create a perceivable beat, are played in each channel, resulting in a stronger stimulus because they mix together before they reach the ear. This form of entrainment is stronger than binaural beats but can be altered by outside noise interference.ISOCHRONIC TONES-the strongest, most effective entrainment uses pulsing tones to synchronize the brain to a desired frequency. The process is automatic and requires no particular effort or focus from the user. Distinct sharp tones are introduced to the brain, which the brain easily follows, causing a strong entrainment. Tones entrain in the thalamus and are very effective for deep meditative states, mild relaxation, high level stimulation, and cognitive enhancement because they cause the brain to form new neural networks. The entrainment effects are fast and permanent.

To wrap it up, brainwave entrainment MP3s offer a modern, practical way for people to experience things that were once only preserved for certain groups of individuals. It is up to the user for these, though, to further research the various audios and products available out there and to clearly set their goals. Different brainwaves produce different results, and this is why products would be designed in various ways, too. Some bring you to alpha, others go all the way down to delta... It is up to you which realms of your brain you wish to explore... So, anyways, how far exactly do you see brainwave entrainment taking you?




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