Learn how to use binaural beats for your health and get other tips for dealing with anxiety!
If you’re a frequent music listener, then you know that music can have a profound effect on your feelings and your mood. But music isn’t the only form of sound that can physically affect your body. Binaural beats are created when two tones are played together at different frequencies, creating an illusion that can have different effects on your brain.
The word around town is that one of the uses of binaural beats is to cure anxiety, but how true is this, and what are other ways you can help calm your anxieties? Today, expect to learn about the following:
Binaural beats are when two beats or frequencies are played at once, creating an illusion in the brain that the two frequencies are actually one frequency. What happens to your brain when you listen to binaural beats is that your brain matches the frequency, encouraging you toward a certain state of mind. Binaural beats enhance your brainwaves, which affects your mood!
Binaural beats can affect your mood in five different ways according to what frequency you are listening to. Different frequencies are linked to specific feelings and effects — these frequencies are measured by Hertz (Hz).
Delta Binaural Beats (1-4 Hz):
Theta Binaural Beats (4-8 Hz):
Alpha Binaural Beats (8-14 Hz):
Beta Binaural Beats (14-30 Hz):
Gamma Binaural Beats (30-100 Hz):
You can find binaural beats on YouTube for studying, focus, concentration, healing sleep, and lots more. But how exactly does this work?
Binaural beats influence your brain waves thanks to something called the superior olivary complex. This is the part of your brain that processes sound from your ears. Usually, you hear the same sound from both ears, but when you’re experiencing a completely different sound from each ear, your superior olivary complex gets confused and mistakes the two frequencies for one. When the olivary complex synthesizes these two sounds into one, it influences your brain waves.
While binaural beats can have varied effects depending on the person, many people report that binaural beats yield real results. While there is a lack of real studies or scientific evidence to support this, there is still real merit behind binaural beats. The benefits of binaural beats range from helping improve productivity, sleep habits, memory retention, and anxiety. But where’s the proof?
One study done by the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that binaural beats really helped reduce anxiety. In this study, 15 anxiety patients listened to 3 different binaural beats 5 times a week for 4 weeks. The results, which were based on the participants’ journal entries, reported that after these 4 weeks, their anxiety scores significantly decreased! This study concluded that listening to binaural beats in the delta and theta frequencies (1-8 Hz) on a regular basis can indeed help with anxiety.
There are not a large number of significant studies that have been done to evaluate binaural beats, but what has been done has supplied us with enough evidence to understand that binaural beats do have health benefits. Here are some of the other studies that have been done on binaural beats:
So how can you use binaural beats to help with your anxiety? Well, though listening to binaural beats one or two times may not do anything for you outside of the moment, making it a habit can yield more significant benefits.
If you want to give binaural beats a try, look them up on YouTube or your favorite audio platform and try listening to them with headphones whenever you get the chance. For the best results, listen to the beats for around 30 minutes or longer per session and vary what kinds of beats you’re listening to. It also helps to listen in a quiet, comfortable, and distraction-free environment. If you don’t notice any changes after listening 4-7 times a week for 2-4 weeks, then binaural beats may not be for you.
Binaural beats can certainly help soothe you and condition your mind to enter a more calm state, but they are not an official medical treatment. They aren’t by any means a cure for anxiety or any other condition, just a casually helpful remedy.
Since binaural beats are pretty much just sounds, there aren’t many side effects. Still, if you want to start using binaural beats regularly, there are some things you should consider first.
If binaural beats aren’t your thing (or if you need more ways to manage your anxiety), here are some extra tips!
Binaural beats are super unique, but there are also other ways you can use sound and music to calm and relax an anxious mind:
Other than music and sound-related remedies, here are some more psychologically backed activities that help with anxiety.
There are plenty of small ways you can help calm your anxiety when it gets bad, but there are two things you should be doing in order to help permanently improve your anxiety. These two things are going to therapy and practicing healthier habits. Going to therapy will help you understand exactly what is causing your anxiety. With this, you can make a game plan to improve your day-to-day functioning. Practicing healthier habits will ensure that you have less to be anxious about. When you eat healthier, your emotions will be less erratic. When you’re more social, you’ll have more people to support you in your journey. The list goes on!
Do binaural beats help with anxiety? The answer is yes!
However, binaural beats aren’t thoroughly researched from a scientific standpoint, there is more than enough anecdotal evidence to conclude that binaural beats really do have some health benefits. In fact, I’m listening to some right now while writing this article! I’m using gamma binaural beats to help with focus and productivity, and it seems like it’s working!
So while binaural beats should not be used as a medical cure for anxiety, if they work for you, they can be another useful strategy to add to your mental health arsenal!
