I’m not the type of person that likes to study or do work with music. In fact, I work best in complete silence—not always an achievable scenario.
This poses a problem if you are in a noisy place. I wanted to find a way to drown out the noise. I have tried everything from noise cancelling headphones, to ear plugs. But then, an idea came to me. When I lived on the second story of an apartment, I remember I used a fan to drown out the noise from the snow plows working late at night. This gave me an idea: Maybe I can find some form of background noise that could drown out the external noise around me.
That was when I stumbled on what are called Binaural Beats.
What are Binaural Beats?
Binaural beats are two separate frequencies, one in each ear. The difference in frequencies is very small. Your brain ends up processing the difference in a way that creates an auditory illusion. It can almost sound like someone humming. For a sample check here.
If you’re on your computer, and that sounded weird, this is why: For Binaural beats to work, you require headphones because you need the tonal difference in each ear. My use of binaural beats as a “drowning out” mechanism was primary in the beginning, but it soon became secondary. It turns out there are a few interesting health benefits to binaural beats:
The health benefits
Binaural beats are claimed to induce the same mental state associated with certain moods and mental states because they—in theory—can match the hertz of alpha, beta, theta and delta brain waves. Binaural beats are purported to induce (depending on the hertz chosen) certain meditative states. This news alone peaked my interest.
What do Binaural Beats do?
One controlled study showed that Binaural beats lowered the anxiety of pre-operative patients undergoing general anaesthesia for surgery significantly.
Furthermore, it is believed that certain frequencies can induce different states. This excerpt from “Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body” by Daniel Goleman, Richard J. Davidson summarizes the functions of the main brain waves:
“There are four main types of EEG waves, classed by their frequency (technically, measured in hertz). Delta, the slowest wave, oscillates between one and four cycles per second, and occurs mainly during deep sleep; theta, the next slowest, can signify drowsiness; alpha occurs when we are doing little thinking and indicates relaxation; and beta, the fastest, accompanies thinking, alertness, or concentration. Gamma, the very fastest brain wave, occurs during moments when differing brain regions fire in harmony, like moments of insight when different elements of a mental puzzle “click” together.”
Altered Traits – Daniel Goleman, Richard J. Davidson
How I found Binaural Beats
I would like to state that in no way do I think Binaural Beats should replace meditation—quite the contrary. I started to use binaural beats during my morning meditation routine as a tool to dial in.
A lot of this is theoretical. Studies on binaural beats are in their infancy. Anything I have noticed has been “unquantifiable.” This accords with most do it yourself experiments in the contemplative genre.
That being said, I have noticed a significant difference in my ability to stay concentrated, reduce stress and anxiety, and promote feelings of peace, compassion, and equanimity when I compound longer meditation sits (at least one hour) with binaural beats.
If you are having a difficult time sitting still, or would just like to try something new, I recommend giving binaural beats a shot. Even if their use is a bit of a placebo, I still see a net gain in my ability to concentrate and meditate for longer periods of time.
If you’re curious where to find these strange beats, here is an album on Spotify from the artist Pure Binaural Beats.
Al holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Ottawa, and a Bachelor of Arts Double Major in Linguistics & Political Studies from the University of Manitoba. He is currently working in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Al has a passion for language, meditation, health, travelling, business and tech. Al is one of the co-founders of ThoughtNotion. You can connect with him on his personal site or on LinkedIn.
