What is Binaural Brainwave Entrainment?

Binaural beats are those frequencies originating from the brain that get stimulated whenever there is a difference in the frequencies of the tone that is heard through the left ear and the right ear simultaneously. The binaural beat that originates from the brain compensates for the difference in the frequencies caused by the music to which we are listening. This method of stimulating the binaural beat from the brain is known as Binaural Brainwave Entrainment. Do not interpret the word 'beats' to be some strange drum beats or the ones that we hear in our regular music. These beats are essentially the ones which originate from the mind. The tones that we hear are just an external stimulus to initiate the stimulation. The tones that are heard for this stimulation activity are primarily measured, flowing, slow and calming in nature. These tones are usually a combination of Indian traditional music used in conjunction with some electronic synthesizers. The disciples of this discipline called binaural brainwave entrainment do not look at it just as a piece of science but look at is as a therapy. They believe that binaural brainwave entrainment has therapeutic qualities and has the potential to prevent and cure a lot of diseases. In this article, we'll not look at the diseases that could be treated with binaural brainwave entrainment but look at what are the different binaural brainwave entrainment waves and history related to binaural brainwave entrainment's discovery.

There are primarily four types of waves that keep fluctuating inside our brain. They are delta, theta, alpha, and beta. Each of these waves has its different purposes and frequencies. If we look at the delta wave, the frequency range essentially is .1 to 3 Hz. This wave is associated with a state of deep and dreamless sleep. The theta wave has a frequency of 3 to 7 Hz and this wave is associated with day-dreaming, imagination, inspiration, recalling old memories, etc. Next comes alpha wave which has a frequency of 7 to 13 Hz and is usually associated with people who are in a state of relaxation, calmness, etc. Meditation is usually a state related to alpha waves. Beta wave is the most active of the waves and it has a frequency range of 14 Hz. This is the state when the person is more active and awake.

Now let us look at the history of binaural brainwave entrainment. The field of binaural brainwave entrainment was discovered by Heinrich Weilhelm Dove in 1839. Sadly no one paid attention to his work to give it necessary exposure. Several years later, another person called Gerald Oster submitted a short article on binaural brainwave entrainment to a particularly popular publication in 1973. Though it was not entirely a unique article, as it was a kind of a mixture of independent research information on binaural brainwave entrainment, people liked it for its uniqueness and the innovative way in which it was put across. The people who read and went through the article thought the article to be strong enough and made it as a basis for further research. That is how the whole concept of binaural brainwave entrainment came into existence. Binaural brainwave entrainment has come a long way from then and now has become an immensely powerful medical tool.