Over the last two weeks or so, sleeping is a luxury that I did not get much of because my french bulldog had cataract eye surgery. After a serious surgery like this, he needs constant eye drops every four to six hours. Also, he is in a cone, which means drinking and eating are challenging unless it’s from my hand or holding the bowl at an angle. Now the purpose of this post is not to wallow about my dog. Instead, it’s to talk about how the mandatory late nights has led me to a new field of research.

The use of binaural beats or wavelengths, as some call them, that aid in sleep but also in easing the mind considerably. For those unfamiliar with the term, a binaural beat is the difference between two tones played in each ear. One frequency on the left and a different one on the right, thus creating an auditory illusion.
Since the brain codes one tone through the difference of the two separate tones.

Specifics

There are some rules behind the phenomenon the two tones must be less than 1000 hertz. The difference can’t be greater than 30 hertz. Lastly, the tones must be different in each ear.

Beneficial to health?

Since the beats put the mind at ease, similar to meditation, they reduce anxiety and stress while increasing focus, relaxation, and positivity. They do this by the production of specific brainwave patterns synchrony.

Moreover, between 1 – 30 hertz, the synchronization of the brain is split into four categories. Each of them tailored to a specific body and mental state of being.

Deep sleep and relaxation are in the delta 1 – 4 hertz range. Theta 4 – 8 reduce anxiety, induce REM sleep, relaxation and even creative states. Relaxation is also in the alpha 8 – 13 range alongside positivity promotion and anxiety reduction. Whereas the beta 14 – 30 range increases concentration, problem-solving and memory improvements, Bear in mind this is what some research says while others have more extensive lists.

My experience

Since I am still fairly new to the practice. I can’t say too much other than I know the delta waves are my saving grace thus far for sleeping and keeping me in a dreamlike state. Since I am usually someone who wakes up once at night then stays up until the next. The fact that delta binaural beats allow me to wake up to give Vader his meds then fade back to sleep is phenomenal.

As for the other three groupings, I am about to begin using them throughout my day to see if they work as the research says. The goal will be to come back after another two weeks or so to talk about the experience.