BINAURAL BEATS — BETTER LEARNING AND WORKING WITH MUSIC

Since the triumph of smartphones and Spotify, everyone carries their music collection around with them and has access to almost any song. Music has become a constant companion. Music can be heard while learning, working, driving a car or train, doing sports, meditating, etc. More and more often music is supposed to serve an active purpose: More power when doing sports, better concentration when learning or working, deeper peace when meditating. Music has long been produced specifically to fulfill these purposes even better. In this article I would like to talk about Binaural Beats. What exactly they are, how they should help, where to find them and if they really help.

DEFINITION BINAURAL BEATS
Binaural beats deceive our hearing by sending a sound with a slightly different frequency to both ears. Binaural comes from the Latin. The prefix Bi stands for two/both and Auris for ear, so the expression means “with both ears”. The decisive factor here is that the difference between the two sounds is a maximum of 30Hz. The deception here is that the brain mixes the sound of both ears together and no longer differentiates between them. Thereby you perceive a pulsating sound.

ORIGIN OF THE VIBRATION WITH BINAURAL BEATS
A binaural beat is an acoustic illusion because it is created in the brain and not by a superposition of sound waves in the ear. To cause the phenomenon, 3 different factors must be present:

• Basic frequency below 1500Hz: From here on the brain perceives only one tone
• Frequency different on the left and right ear
• Frequency difference maximum 30Hz

The special thing about it is that the brain, more precisely the brain stem (nucleus olivaris superior) is responsible for the mixing of the sounds. The frequencies are so minimally different that the brain stem superimposes them and interprets them as a pulsating sound.

EFFECTS ON THE SPIRIT
The binaural beats are designed to stimulate the brain waves to promote or evoke certain mental states. By measuring the electrical impulses in the brain, different states of consciousness can be assigned to the individual frequencies. You have probably heard of alpha, beta or gamma waves? Exactly these waves are addressed via the frequencies:

• Alpha: Frequency range 8–13Hz. Increased alpha waves indicate a slight relaxation or relaxed alertness with closed eyes. As soon as the eyes are opened, alpha waves are replaced by beta waves. Effect: Conscious (13Hz) & relaxed (8Hz)
• Beta: Frequency range 13–30Hz. The higher the frequency range of beta waves, the more activated and focused the brain should be.
• Gamma: Frequenzbereich über 30Hz. Tritt bei sehr starker Konzentration, beim intensiven Lernen oder Meditieren auf. Da ab 30Hz nur ein Ton wahrgenommen wird, kann dieser Zustand nicht über binaurale Beats forciert werden.
• Delta: frequency range < 4Hz. Delta waves are associated with dreamless deep sleep or lethargy.
• Theta: frequency range 4–8Hz. This is the “chill range” and occurs more frequently in cases of drowsiness and light sleep.

Stimulation of gamma waves would therefore be ideal for work or learning. Unfortunately, the binaural beats are of limited help, because humans simply hear two tones from 30Hz. Therefore the beta range can be covered at most. But also in this range the brain is adjusted to focus and performance.

METHOD OF OPERATION
The idea behind binaural beats is to stimulate the brain via acoustic stimuli in such a way that it is put into the appropriate state. If the brain is currently in a resting phase (= alpha waves) and a binaural beat at 30Hz is then applied to this brain, the brain ideally changes from alpha waves to beta or even gamma waves. In this way, the brain can be made to change to a certain state.

APPLICATION CASES
The applications are limitless and everyone can find the right binaural beat according to their personal preference. In the following overview you will find a few use cases. This list is by far not complete, but you will get an idea:

DELTA WAVES 0,1–4 HZ

deep sleep. Access to the subconscious.
Suitable for: pain relief. Promoting the healing process. Support the immune system.

ALPHA WAVES 8–14HZ
Relaxed focus. Positive thoughts. Positive mood. Suitable for: Motivation. Relaxation. Stress reduction.

THETA WAVES 4–8HZ
REM sleep. Deeply relaxed. Creativity. Imagination. Inspiration. Suitable for: meditation. Creative work. Lucid dreaming. Memories.

BETA WAVES 14–30HZ
Focused attention. Hцchste Perception. Analytical thinking. Problemlцsung. Suitable for: Learning. Focus. Concentration.

LISTEN TO BINAURAL BEATS
The nice thing about binaural beats is that you can listen to them relatively easily and free of charge. So you can test for yourself whether they help you learn or work or not. Be sure to use headphones.

HEADPHONES
With the right headphones you will achieve much better results than without. Use OVER Ear headphones.
Here you can find three Over Ear headphones, which we use ourselves and recommend to you:

• Sennheiser HD 599 Special Edition
• Sennheiser HD 450BT
• Bose QuietComfort 35 (Serie II)

YOUTUBE
The first port of call should be YouTube. You can quickly find a bunch of videos just search for “Binaural Beats”. But I personally found only very slow and calm beats there. They work for me, but I quickly got bored with them and at some point they were too monotonous. Example:

• BRAIN.FM
  Brain.fm is probably the best choice with the most extensive features. A mature AI (royal intelligence) generates the beats. The first few sessions are free. After that you can listen endlessly for a small monthly fee. There is an app for Android and iOS. The nice thing is that you can choose what you want:
• CREATE OWN BEATS
  Creating the beats yourself is no magic trick. If you have found the perfect frequency for yourself, you can create your personal binaural beat with simple tools. It is very easy to do it online with the Binaural Beat Machine. If you prefer to use a program, I can recommend Gnaural (instruction video).

FAZIT
The fact that the frequencies perceived through the ears are transferred to the frequencies of the brain is an enormously impressive thing. If you use this for yourself, you can manipulate your brain and put it in the state you need it to be in or give it the direction you need it to go.
If the Binaural Beats help you, you can easily test yourself with the above linked pages. If the beats help you, you can work more effectively and learn faster.
What do you think? Have you already made experiences with binaural beats? Do the beats help you at work or while learning?

SOURCE LIST

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• [Kang, Jong-Man et al. “Audiovisual Stimulation with Synchronized Pulsed Tones and Flickering Lights Set at a Delta Frequency Can Induce a Sedative Effect.” Korean Journal of Anesthesiology 61.1 (2011): 93–94]
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