The Benefits of Binaural Beats Meditation Explained

Meditation boosts your brain's levels of mood-elevating chemicals, such as:

• GABA
• HGH
• serotonin
• DHEA
• melatonin
• endorphins

It helps you to control mental chatter and self-destructive impulses. A study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that a meditation program was equally as effective as an antidepressant regimen in the treatment of depression. Meditation can help you eliminate uncontrollable habits, fears, and addictions. The only drawback is that traditional meditation practice can take years to achieve these benefits. Binaural beats meditation makes it possible to achieve these benefits at the push of a button, within a few months.

In 1839, a Prussian physicist by the name of Heinrich Willhelm Dove discovered a method of meditation known as binaural entrainment. In 1973, over a hundred years later, a research scientist named Gerald Oster published an article entitled Auditory Beats in the Brain. His research helped to bring widespread attention to this powerful technology.

The term “binaural” refers to the perception of sound by your two ears. In physics, entrainment occurs when two systems oscillating at different frequencies independently are brought together in synchronization. Binaural entrainment is the process of introducing different auditory frequencies into each ear, which causes your brain to create its own third signal, known as a binaural beat, equal to the difference between the two tones. Scientists call this effect frequency following response (FFR). If frequencies of 440 Hz are played into your right ear and 447 Hz in your left ear, your brain will detect the difference and produce a third frequency at 7 Hz. This process manifests what is known as “whole-brain functioning”, causing you to enter a deeply focused meditative state, like those achieved by Zen monks, in a much shorter period of time than traditional meditation.

Research from the Oregon Health and Science University, the National College of Natural Medicine, and the Clinique Psychoanalytique de Montreal shows that it can benefit people suffering from anxiety, depression, and mood disorders. Scientists at Duke University found that binaural beats improved mood, performance, and vigilance. Hundreds of studies have been published on the emotional and physical benefits of binaural entrainment.

Anti-Aging Effects

Alpha, theta and delta brainwave frequencies increase the production of the human growth hormone, according to Dr. Vincent Giampapa, a former President of the American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine. Studies indicate that human growth hormone deficiency is relevant to health and responsible for the early onset of degenerative diseases, and even premature death, says Richard J. Marsh, M.D.. Researcher Robert Cosgrove Jr., Ph.D., M.D., and an authority in pharmaceutics and biomedical engineering, noted that binaural entrainment is an excellent neuro-pathway exerciser with a great potential for use in promoting optimal brain performance. Maintaining and improving brain performance throughout life delays the deterioration of the brain associated with aging by decades.

Improved Memory and Learning

Bulgarian psychiatrist Georgi Lozanov found that when students are in the alpha state they learn over five times as much information with less study time per day, with greater long-term retention. In some cases, students learned up to thirty times more than normal brain functioning. Speech-Language pathologist Suzanne Evans Morris, PhD, says that the introduction of theta signals into the learning environment allows for a broader and deeper understanding of the information provided by the teacher. They increase focus and receptivity. She also noted that when binaural beats are used in a classroom setting, children exhibited improved focus of attention and had a greater enthusiasm for and interest in learning.

Addiction Recovery

The alpha and theta frequencies have been shown to help with addiction recovery. Dr. Eugene Peniston and Dr. Paul Kulkosky, of the University of Southern Colorado, trained a group of alcoholics to enter into these states. Alcoholics recovered at a much faster rate than the control group. After thirteen months, this alpha-theta group showed "sustained prevention of relapse," and these findings were confirmed in a follow-up study three years later. This group also showed a significant personality transformation, including increases in qualities such as empathetic warmth, stability, conscientiousness, boldness, imagination, and self-control, along with reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms.

Neurotechnology and biofeedback researcher Thomas Budzynski describes the theta state as a transition zone between wakefulness and sleep in which one can absorb new information in an uncritical, non-analytical fashion. This allows new information to be considered by the right hemisphere, bypassing the critical filters of the left hemisphere. This allows the brain to process information leading to healthier self-concepts, modification of habitual behaviors, and critical examination of one's belief systems. These benefits could occur easily if alternatives were presented during a period of theta activity.

In order for binaural entrainment to work at its best, you will need a pair of stereo headphones. You need to be willing to relax and focus on your breathing in order to receive the maximum benefit. Though binaural entrainment makes meditation much easier, you still need to be dedicated. Start using it for 20 minutes a day, and work your way up to an hour. You'll notice that your tolerance for stressful situations will become much higher, and as you start to think healthy thoughts, you will become healthier. Now that you understand the benefits of binaural beats meditation explained, nothing is stopping you from living the happier, healthier life you want to achieve.