What is Brainwave Entrainment?

Brain entrainment has over 70 years of research behind it.  Your brain has an electrical response in relation to rhythmic pulses of sound or light.  When given a stimulus it emits a Cortical Evoked Response, which can be measured by electrodes. If the rhythm is consistent the brain will respond by synchronising its own electrical cycles to that rhythm.  This is known as the Frequency Following Response (FFR).  In physics entrainment is the synchronization of two or more rhythmic cycles. Entrainment  can also be witnessed in chemistry, biology, neurology and  pharmacology amongst others.

There’s a famous story dating back to 1656 when Christian Huygens, a Dutch scientist, found that placing two unsynchronised clocks side by side on a wall would make them slowly synchronise to each other absolutely perfectly.

And so can your brain synchronise in the right way with the cycles incorporated into our Mindbeats CDs and MP3s.

Brainwaves are associated with your state.

Brain Frequencies & Associated Mental State

Beta (12hz – 38 hz)
This is the wide-awake state.   Insufficient Beta activity can be associated with depression and ADD/ADHD. Enhancing Beta activity can improve energy, attention, and emotional stability

Alpha (8hz – 12 hz)
The learning state.  A state of relaxed alertness.  This is the frequency of the earth’s ‘heartbeat’.  Useful for accelerated learning.

Theta (3hz – 8 hz)
Deep relaxation/light sleep.  Useful for hypnosis and accelerated learning.

Delta (.2hz – 3 hz)
Slow-wave deep dreamless sleep.  In Delta your body resets its inner clocks, heals itself, repairs cellular damage, and may even grow new nerve cells.  This deep sleep is like a holiday for your brain, it is restores energy.  Brain blood flow decreases and is directed towards muscles to restore physical energy.  Immune function increases during deep sleep.

REM Sleep (Rapid Eye Movement/Dream Sleep)
Hypnosis also accesses the REM state.
REM is associated with the processing of emotions, memory retention, and stress relief.  Breathing is rapid, shallow and irregular as heart-rate increases and blood pressure rises. Over-REMing is associated with depression.  It’s thought it is also vital to learning and developing skills.  The right amount of REM helps boost your mood the next day. 

Too much REM however is associated with the cycle of depression, and will actually make you tired on wake-up.  Contact us for Kath Temple’s article on Breaking the Cycle of Depression, which appeared in September 2008 edition of Happiness Magazine

Inspiring Lives, Empowering Minds