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The Science of Brainwave Entrainment
Through experiential experimentation, some scientists have found that you can “create” the right conditions for relaxation, visualization, learning, meditation, and many other useful states of mind. By stimulating naturally occurring brain frequencies, you can “turn on” the right types of mind sets that you need to perform certain tasks. You can also “turn off” negative emotions such as anxiety, panic, stress & fear. IMAGINE BEING ABLE TO CONTROL YOUR MIND SO YOU ONLY EXPERIENCED WHAT YOU DESIRED OUT OF LIFE… and all drug free scientifically.

What are Brainwaves?

Your brain is made up of billions of brain cells called neurons, which use electricity to communicate with each other. The combination of millions of neurons sending signals at once produces an enormous amount of electrical activity in the brain, which can be detected using sensitive medical equipment (such as an EEG), measuring electricity levels over areas of the scalp.

The combination of electrical activity of the brain is commonly called a BrainWave pattern, because of its cyclic, “wave-like” nature.

Now these brain wave patterns can be placed into groups according to the frequency range which is directly related to the state of mind of the person. These are …

Beta (13 Hz – 30 Hz) is the state of normal, wakeful consciousness. As you are working, driving, talking, etc., you are usually in Beta. High beta activity is sometimes associated with anxiety, panic and stress.

Alpha (8 Hz – 12 Hz) is a state of light relaxation. Typified by a calm, focused mind. Alpha is sometimes called the “super learning state” because the brain seems to be more receptive and open to new information. Most people who meditate, do so in alpha.

Theta (4 Hz – 7 Hz) is a state of deep relaxation. The Theta brainwave state is of REM sleep (dreams), hypnosis, lucid dreaming, and the barely conscious state just before sleeping and just after waking. Theta is the border between the conscious and the subconscious world, and by learning to use a conscious, waking Theta brain wave we can access and influence the powerful subconscious part of ourselves that is normally inaccessible to our waking minds. While in the Theta state, the mind is capable of deep and profound learning, healing, and growth.

Delta (0.5 Hz – 3 Hz) the slowest of the brainwave patterns, can be a state of deep sleep, or trance-like consciousness. Maintaining awareness in delta has been known to open a path to the unconscious.

In the course of an average day, most of us spend a large amount of time in the beta brainwave state and reach into the alpha state when using our mind to remember certain events, places, names etc. That will limit most of us from accessing higher states of mind at will, but now you can access higher states of mind almost as easy as pushing a button!

When they first learned about “brainwaves” scientists began asking themselves, “What if we could train the brain to go into these different states at will?” In other words, what if you could find a way to induce your brain into, let’s say, any state of consciousness you want? Do You think that would be useful in helping you live the life you want to live?

The Answer? … YES! Brain Wave Entrainment Works

“Entrainment” is a term from physics which means “the tendency for two vibrating bodies to lock into phase so that they vibrate in harmony”.

For example, one tuning fork when struck and placed next to another tuning fork will cause the second one to vibrate at the same rate.

This was first observed by Dutch scientist, Christian Huygens, in 1665 while he was working on the design of the pendulum clock. He found that when he placed two of the clocks on a wall near each other and swung the pendulums at different rates, they would eventually end up swinging at the same rate.

Now what if this same phenomenon could be repeated in training the brain to lock into the vibrational frequency of an outside stimulus?

Well, several well documented scientific studies have shown that this is in fact possible. For centuries people have been using outside rhythmic stimulus in the form of drumbeats, chants and singing to induce various feelings, ranging from euphoria to sadness.

Mystics throughout the ages have realized what scientists have just now confirmed… and refined to be even more powerful! Now you can, at will, tune your mind to the frequencies that are known to produce healing, happiness, success, prosperity, & deep relaxation, as easy as tuning a radio to the station you desire.

Brainwave Entrainment Methods

The most well known form of brainwave entrainment is binaural beats, where a slightly different tone is presented into each ear. When pure tones are mixed together, their waveforms add and subtract from one another, resulting in a pulse. In the case of binaural beats, the two tones are mixed by the brain itself (one in each ear). The pulses, called “beats”, formed by mixing these tones is what causes entrainment to occur. As you learned in the entrainment section, brainwaves are affected by rapid pulses of sound, light or other sensory stimuli.

But since any kind of pulse can be used to entrain the brain, there are many other, more effective methods that allow more control than binaural tones. One is Isochronic tones, where a tone is manually spaced, turning on and off in a precise pattern. Another is called “Photic Driving”, which involves doing the same thing with Light, using LED Light Goggles or a flashing screen (like a strobe light). Clicks, drums, physical vibrations and even electric pulses can be used to entrain the brain. In fact, photic, tactile and click-based entrainment were discovered long before binaural beats. Today, there are even more complex methods for embedding pulses into music and white noise.

Entrainment can be effectively embedded into music and white noise, greatly enriching the entrainment experience, and usually creating a more pleasant, relaxing experience.

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Mystic Mindpower Audios use specially designed music and Isocronic Tones or Monaural tones for Highly effective Meditational Brainwave Entrainment. Learn More HERE

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Some entrainment methods do not rely on speaker assignments, and therefore can be used without headphones or any special speaker assignments. For veteran users of brainwave entrainment, this may seem strange since headphones have always been a traditional part of the brain training experience. The reality of the matter is that headphones have never been required for use with anything except Binaural beats. Monaural beats can be used very effectively without headphones. So can pulses, clicks and light stimulation. In fact, many ancient cultures used Drums to enter deeply relaxed ‘trances’ during Shamanic rituals. Though they may not have called it brainwave entrainment, the rhythmic stimulus of the drum could have been the cause of the “trance-like” states reported during such rituals.

Binaural beats have become very popular over the years, so much so that for many people the idea of “brainwave entrainment” is inseparable from them. But there are many other ways to stimulate the brain, many of which are more effective.

Binaural beats require headphones or special speaker assignments. This can be difficult for people who do not have headphones or find them uncomfortable. Binaural beats are not capable of entraining the Hemispheres individually (because they require BOTH ears). This can be a major disadvantage because many of the modern entrainment protocols used in clinical work today involve separate stimulation to each ear, useful for deeper meditation, cognitive enhancement and particularly for depression and ADD reduction.

While Binaural beats are not as effective as more modern entrainment methods, such as Isocronic Tone and monaural beats; though they do remain the most interesting. Dr. Gerald Oster, in the 1973 issue of “Scientific American”, introduced binaural beats to the main stream. According to Oster, because of the way the brain processes binaural beats, the depth or intensity of the resulting “beat” is only around 3db, or 1/10th the volume of a whisper (which is why the “beats” are usually so hard to detect). He concluded that binaural beats produced very small evoked potentials within the auditory cortex of the brain, while monaural beats and other methods produced far greater potentials.

A Brief History of Brainwave Entrainment

Brainwave entrainment was first identified in 1934, although its effects had been noted as early as Ptolemy.

Not long after the discovery of the Alpha brainwave by Hans Berger in 1929, researchers found that the strength of the wave could be “driven” beyond its natural frequency using flickering lights. This is called “Photic Driving”, which is another word for brainwave entrainment using photic (light) stimulation. In 1942 Dempsey and Morison discovered that repetitive tactile stimulation could also produce entrainment and in 1959, Dr. Chatrian observed auditory entrainment in response to clicks at a frequency of 15 per second.

By the 1960s entrainment started to become a tool rather than a phenomenon of the brain. Anesthesiologist M.S. Sadove, MD, used photic stimulation to reduce the amount of anesthesia needed for surgery. Bernard Margolis published an article on brainwave entrainment used during dental procedures, noting less anesthesia required, less gagging, less bleeding and a general reduction in anxiety.

In a 1973 issue of Scientific American, Dr. Gerald Oster examined how combining 2 pure tones resulted in a rhythmic beat which he called Binaural and Monaural Beats. In comparing Binaural beats against Monaural beats, Oster noted that Monaural beats were shown to elicit extremely strong cortical responses, which is the electrical activity responsible for entrainment. Oster concluded that while Binaural Beats produced very little neural response (because the depth of a Binaural Beat is only 3db or 1/10 the volume of a whisper), they could be useful in diagnosing certain neurological disorders.

In the 1980’s studies continued with Dr. Norman Shealy, Dr. Glen Solomon and others researching entrainment for headache relief, Serotonin and HGH release, as well as general relaxation. Michael Hutchison wrote his landmark book MegaBrain in 1981, outlining the many possible uses of entrainment from meditation to super-learning. In 1980, Tsuyoshi Inouye and associates at the Department of Neuropsychiatry at Osaka University Medical School in Japan found that photic stimulation produced “cerebral synchronization”. Dr. Norman Shealy later confirmed the effect, finding that photic stimulation produced synchronization in more than 5,000 patients. In 1984, Dr. Brockopp analyzed audio-visual brain stimulation and in particular hemispheric synchronization during EEG monitoring. He said “By inducing hemispheric coherence the machine can contribute to improved intellectual functioning of the brain.”

In 1981, Arturo Manns published a study showing the effectiveness of Isochronic Tones. This was later confirmed by others such as David Siever.

Studies continued into the 90’s with researchers such as Dr. Russell, Dr. Carter and others who explored the vast potential of using entrainment with ADD and learning disorders. Research has also been conducted into PMS, Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Pain, Depression, Hypertension and a number of other disorders. Steady research continues today with the work of Dr. Thomas Budzynski, David Siever, psychologist Michael Joyce and many others. The results of entrainment have been so promising that many modern clinical EEG units come with entrainment devices.

There is over 70 years of solid research behind brainwave entrainment . So why hasn’t it become more well known? Mainly because our culture is very much dependent on drugs, and, in comparison to the pharmaceutical giants, there is not a lot of money to be made in entrainment: it is inexpensive, easy to use at home and can be a viable solution to a huge variety of problems. Also, the idea that software or an inexpensive piece of hardware is able to directly affect the brain sounds preposterous at first, until you read the research and discover the science behind it. Despite the combination of solid scientific, empirical and a huge amount of anecdotal evidence, the world is still very skeptical of entrainment and brain training. But the word is spreading. Every day more psychologists, mental health clinics, coaches, teachers and professionals are discovering entrainment, and finding it remarkably useful.

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