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Review: Binaural Beats, baby. (aka the “Digital Drug”)
By Erica | June 17, 2010
Um, Binaural what? Yeah, that’s what I thought too when I was reading all the hype around the Internet about this New Age-y, slightly alienesque way to create a dream life through sounds.
I was also slightly intrigued.
Here’s what I found out: A bianural, according to my trusted pal Dictionary.com is a sound “…recorded through two separate microphones and transmitted through two separate channels to produce a stereophonic effect.” In layman’s terms: It’s a beat you listen to through headphones.
The Science: Before you label me an invalid for stating the painfully obvious, let me be more clear (or as clear as I can be the morning after four Long Islands & a Three Horsemen). A binaural beat isn’t just any old beat you can hear on the radio, through your iPod speakers or whip up on your own in Garage Band. Nope, it’s just not that simple. According to Healing Beats, a binaural beat “…is the result of two slightly different audio waves being heard separately by the left and right ear in a manner that encourages the neurophysiology to generate a specific unified brain wave pattern.” Simply put: The beat can actually alter brain waves (!)
Here are few ways you can use binaural beats to change your brain:
♥ Increase concentration
♥ Encourage problem solving
♥ Improve memory
♥ Deep relaxation
Yeah, the name sounds funny. And the fact that I’m telling you that a musical note can change your brain is almost laughable. Believe me, I was a skeptic, too (as I am about most things). Then, I sucked up my pride & gave it a go.
The Process: The first time I listened to a binaural beat, I felt a little silly. I was rather wound up after a long day of working (& Starbucks drinking) and wanted to relax before sleep. So, like Healing Beats advises, I arranged myself in a comfy place (my bed), plugged my pink earbuds into my laptop & anxiously pressed “Play.” Within minutes, what originally sounded like white noise began to literally make me feel like I was sinking into my pillow. Granted, lying in my bed for 10 minutes usually brings about this “sinking” feeling on any given day–with or without funny background music. But this was different. I wasn’t experiencing a caffeine crash or falling into a sugar coma (as is possible after one too many frapps with extra whip.) I felt legitimately calm. And my hands stopped shaking. Success!
The next day I decided to try another beat, just in case I was wrong about the sugar coma. This time I picked a beat meant to increase concentration in hopes that I’d be able to pump out some kick ass cover letters. I’m used to constant musical background when I’m writing, so adjusting to the quiet, sometimes barely audible binaural beats was cake. In record time, I had written at least five different letters to different companies in very different fields. I was able to shift gears flawlessly–I kid you not. I didn’t even feel tempted to take an e-mail or Facebook break! (Though I did check my BlackBerry for new @replies. What?)
The Verdict: I can’t say that I’d ever spend money on binaural beats. There are just so many available online for free that I feel like I could spread listening to them all over the next 20 years & be set But, what I can say is that listening to binaural beats was an interesting experience (& the free price tag doesn’t hurt!) The jury is still out on the true neurological effects of binaural beats, so until it’s FDA (or at least New York Times) approved, I’m not 100% convinced. But I recommend trying the beats to anyone who is experiencing anxiety (it would be a lovely addition to meditation) or wants to try a natural way to boost concentration.
I give binaural beats 4/5 stars.
More information for interested parties:
x Binaural beats for your iPhone
x tons of binaural beats on YouTube for free
x Skeptoid.com takes a pretty in-depth & scientific look at binaural beats
x And you can make your binaural beats if you so dare!
Your Turn:
Have any of you tried binaural beats? Please share your experiences, whether you think it’s a total scam or a new age miracle. Were you inspired to try binaural beats after this review? Have you heard of any other interesting, natural ways to relieve anxiety or increase concentration? Do share!
xoxo erica lee
Topics: Health | 6 Comments »
June 18th, 2010 at 12:19 am
Wow, that’s crazy cool! I’m going to try it out.
I really like your blog & I’ll probably be coming back a lot!
June 18th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
It’s neat you should mention this because recently I tried this technique of meditation with ping pong balls on my eyes while listening to binaural beats.
http://gizmodo.com/5092869/headphones-playing-white-noise-and-a-ping-pong-ball-let-you-trip-sans-drugs
I can’t say that I tripped, but it was definitely fascinating. Your post makes me want to try it some more. I didn’t know all that about the beats being able to change brain waves. Fascinating shit!
June 18th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Hi Erica! I tried the ping pong balls with binaural beats too, and it was certainly very calming. I think I want to try meditating with the beats… And during working too, excellent idea.
June 18th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
[...] Erica Lee xoxo talks about Binural Beats, these weird pieces of ‘music’ that can seriously relax & stimulate the brain. I highly recommend checking this out! [...]
June 20th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Joanne – Thanks for the link! Let me know what you think when you try it out! It’s quite possible that I’m mental, but I really did feel different during & afterward! Thank you for the compliment as well :) Your blog is the latest addition to my Reader (& my Links page as soon as I get around to updating it) :)
Kelly – The testimonials in that article are out of control. I didn’t try the ping pong balls, but it’s pretty tempting & probably something I’ll try next time. I’ve actually been listening to a free relaxing beat every day. I have a feeling that just taking the time to sit on my bed & relax for 10-20 mins. a day (with or without the beats) is definitely helping w/ stress relief!
Jessica – I think I read somewhere that they were originally made for meditation. I think that’d probably be the perfect time to try one of the beats made for relaxing. I found this little chart on HealingBeats.com’s FAQ page & it explains how different frequencies supposedly produce the different feelings.
> 40 Hz Gamma waves: Higher mental activity, including perception, problem solving, breakthroughs and consciousness
13–40 Hz Beta waves: Active, busy or focused thinking and concentration, arousal, cognition, memory
7–13 Hz Alpha waves: Deep relaxation (while awake), pre-sleep and pre-awake drowsiness
4–7 Hz Theta waves: Dreams, deep meditation, REM sleep, astral projection
< 4 Hz Delta waves: Deep dreamless sleep, loss of body awareness
March 25th, 2011 at 5:15 am
Although there are a lot of good quality free binaural beats online most of them don’t work.
Anyone can create binaural beats using free programs such as gnaural or Bwgen and this is how most of the free ones are created.
These are all created using general frequencies without very much research and so their results vary.
Just remember you get what you pay for. Most of the quality ones are somewhat expensive but they work great and the frequencies used in them are extensively researched.
For example: 5.1Hz and 6.0Hz are in the same range but the effects they produce are dramatically different
But of course there are some sites that claim outrages things but they never do what they actually claim. Just make sure to do your research.
Binaural beats are great and have helped me accomplish so many things. Great post