How do binaural beats work?
Binaural beats (BBs) impact our brain and body in a way that shifts nervous system and alters our alertness. BBs are flexible; they can relax or stimulate depending on the beats and the person.
BBs are not a simple science. Companies marketing BB quick fixes – there are terrible examples out there - miss out on the power of this effect. They are largely a waste of time. Just because it says ‘binaural beat’ on the label, doesn’t mean that the creator had the scientific knowledge or engineering skills to assemble an effective track.
With correct and informed application, the positive impacts of BBs can bring about real, lasting, positive life changes.
One of the ways BBs shift our nervous system is by entraining brain waves.
Entraining means matching or copying. We entrain to a musical beat when we tap our foot or clap. Our brain waves can entrain to a BB track. Entraining can slow down frantic brain activity caused by stress to bring about a feeling of calm, of being refreshed.
Our clients have called this impact of Audicin tracks a ‘Mind Shower’ and we named one of our playlists in honour of this evocative description.
A classic study published in the peer reviewed journal ‘Frontier in Neuroscience’ investigated whether brain waves can be entrained to a 6Hz BB, as in the image from the paper reprinted below. 6Hz is a brain wave associated with a relaxed state.
The scientists found that 6Hz brain waves were observable in all regions of the cortex after only 10 min of BBs. Just 10 minutes to trigger the brain functions of a meditative state, a significant lowering of tension, without any effort or training and no harmful side effects.
That is the true potential of BBs.