Binurual Beats

[zb0S216C]

Has anyone experienced the effects of binurual beats? If so, what was your experience like?

_Wazzak

[chrisname]

Sometimes I use one on my phone to help me sleep. I've heard isochronic tones are better.

[zb0S216C]

I heard that isotronic tones are better, too. To be honest, this whole idea of "tuning" your brain to a certain frequency fascinates me. Lately, I've been experimenting to see what happens are certain frequencies.

_Wazzak

[Catfish4]

To me it seems you people are merely experimenting with simplified music.

Do you find the simple sounds to be more effective than complex sounds forming a melody (serious question)? Trance, classical, new age, blues...?

[zb0S216C]

Catfish4 wrote:

"Do you find the simple sounds to be more effective than complex sounds forming a melody (serious question)? "

I definitely do! In my experience, with binurual beats, the constant frequencies are far more effective at focusing the brain than ordinary music with a multitude of frequencies.

Honestly, I think binurual beats are intended to focus the brain whereas ordinary music is intended purely for entertainment purposes. I strongly agree that binurual beats are not a form of music.

_Wazzak

[Catfish4]

Well for anyone who wants to jump straight into this, I found:
http://www.youtube.com/user/FulLengthBinaurals

[DeXecipher]

Blues and romantic classical is the shit as well a baroque (don't judge me).

[DeXecipher]

eerie, but classic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLFW2t3JDzY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwOzZYtJ5E4

[Duthomhas]

I like good waveform, but no one where I live seems to have any clue what it is.

[chrisname]

@Framework
If you want to know what specific frequencies do (or are supposed to do), look up brainwave frequency ranges. Better yet, I'll just write them down here.

┌───────┬────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┐
│ Band  │ Frequency (Hz) │ Description                      │
├───────┼────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│ Delta │ 0.1-4          │ NREM sleep                       │
├───────┼────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│ Theta │ 4-8            │ Drowsiness, idleness, inhibition │
├───────┼────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│ Alpha │ 8-13           │ Relaxation, inhibition           │
├───────┼────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│ Beta  │ 13-30          │ Alert, activity, concentration   │
├───────┼────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│ Gamma │ 30+            │ Sensory processing, recall       │
└───────┴────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────┘

Binaural beats and isocronic tones are supposed to entrain the frequencies of your brain waves towards those frequencies with these effects; for example, for sleep you want to go from theta (drowsiness) to delta (NREM sleep) and then back to theta (REM sleep). The problem is that brain wave frequencies mean different things depending on where you measure them. Theta waves are associated with REM sleep when originating in the hippocampus, but awaking when originating in the cortex. Since brain wave entrainment just sets the frequency and not the location of the wave, it's not necessarily possible to predict the result.

[DeXecipher]

Seriously, WHY am I getting reported for perfectly valid posts.

[Catfish4]

@ DeXecipher: from the looks of things someone doesn't like how you double-post.

I don't understand why people are bothered by having their posts reported on this forum. We have only one staff member, the administrator, and he alone knows when he's around. Nothing bad is going to happen.

[zb0S216C]

@chrisname: Thanks for the table. When I said I was "experimenting" I was referring to the effects of certain wavelengths on myself. As you said, the effects of varying waves differ from person to person, and I'm curious how other people respond to differing waves.

_Wazzak

[devonrevenge]

I dont feel like this approach is strong enough, if i want to change my brains state I choose between cocodamol(codine and paracetamol) or ritalin accordingly.

I would like to see some data from experiments relating to people doing repetitive tasks with different types of those sounds you talk about however.

But like most things brain we hardly understand them, the brain music thing seems like unfruitful tinkering

[IWishIKnew]

It basically uses consistently fluctuating sound that afffect the speed of your brain (or, at least that's the way it was for me). It doesn't directly affect it, you actually have to let it take you away.

It has a nominal affect for me, so I got rid of it.

@chrisname

Also, those frequencies are brain-wave frequencies. Sound does not translate to theta/delta/blah blah blah.

That's like saying you can modify what someone feels with sound. Although that is partially true, the said person is still in complete control. I can feel agry at a coommercial about dying kittens if I care to, or not feel anything at all.

[Lachlan Easton]

@IWishIKnew
Brain wave frequencies are more to do with how alert and attentive one is, not so much with how happy/angry/sad.

[1yR4jE8b]

Are there any recent studies on these? Everything I've read seems to suggest that it's just pseudo-science.

[chrisname]

@IWishIKnew
I wish you knew too. It's usually a good idea to read about something before opining on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainwave_entrainment

Also, those frequencies are brain-wave frequencies. Sound does not translate to theta/delta/blah blah blah.

There's no reason why not: they're both waves, although they're different types of wave (transverse and longitudinal).

[IWishIKnew]

Explain to me the sience behind your suggestion:

That kenetic waves can be transformed into electromagnetic waves.

Electiric pulses traveling through synapsis are not electromagnetic waves.

If we could do that, we could create speakers that emit sound that emits light, and that just defies physics.

lol, yes quote from a wiki page with this at the top:

This article needs attention from an expert in Neuroscience.

Brain waves are Electromagnetic. Thats why electroencephalograms work without having to go into surgery, because all you have to do to monitor brain activity is have a really reallly really sensitive electromagnet that monitors the very very ery small and weak electromagnetic field that your brain emits from the current that passes through your synapsis.

[chrisname]

@IWishIKnew
I was just suggesting that the terms alpha, beta, etc. could be applied to other kinds of waves, since they just refer to frequency bands like radio, gamma, x-ray, etc.

As for how it supposedly works: brain waves are neural oscillations produced by electrical activity in CNS tissue. If the activity changes, the brain wave pattern changes. The idea of brainwave entrainment is that the aural or visual stimulation causes the pattern of activity to change (not immediately, I don't think) which entrains the brain wave pattern towards the frequency of the stimulus. Whether it's real or not is another matter. This is all I could find out about it:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0027030/

However,

kenetic waves can be transformed into electromagnetic waves.

is just simple transduction (conversion of energy from one form to another; in this case, kinetic to electromagnetic): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transducer

@darkestfright
It very well may be. It seems to work a little for me, but whether that's actually brainwave entrainment or a placebo effect or just that the sound is relaxing, I don't know.