[Lawyer1732]

Has anyone tried using binaural beats to help facilitate relaxation and calm the mind? There is a relatively highly rated app on the iTunes App Store but I don't want to spend the money if there is no chance it actually helps.

I have used an hour long track on Amazon Prime Music with rain sounds and theta waves which seems to relax me but it could just be the rain. I'm actually thinking I'd rather NOT have the ambient rain, I'd rather have silence though with just the binaural waves if that is working.

Thanks for your help!

[Lara]

Hi Lawyer,

There have been previous posts about binaural beats on this forum and some others here at NT. If you use the forum search feature you can bring those up. I just typed in binaural beats and clicked on Search Posts rather than Threads at the bottom left.


I would post my search results but that doesn't work/transfer here, so you would need to do the search yourself.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/search.php

[Lawyer1732]

Lara, thank you for pointing that out! But the search results I find all seem to just have brief mentions of a few other individuals who have used the binaural beats. I'm wondering if anyone knows whether there is any credibility to the claims that it actually relaxes the brain and perhaps might even aid in recovery?

[Mark in Idaho]

From what I've been able to find, binaural beats alter how the brain works temporarily. They are not advised for people with mental disorders and I would be concerned as to whether organic brain injury should also be a concern. I can't find the comment but remember reading about someone who had long term problems after a therapist tried to repeatedly use binaural beats to treat his symptoms. I think they used Brain State Technologies system.

People have had adverse events from other auditory neuro-therapy systems, such as LENS.

Here is a comment I found at Brain State Technologies' web site. "While there are numerous gimmicks and various brainwave modification paraphernalia available to the home-user, take-home binaural beat technology (products like Hemi-sync and Holo-sync, to name a few) are by far the most popular. These are mass-marketed CDs; products that force the brain into pre-programmed frequencies, pre-set by the device manufacturer. These types of products are considered brain “entrainment” devices and results vary from good, to neutral, to negative."

So, the point is to be careful.

I use normal auditory stimulation to help me relax. Years ago, I did well with foreign language vocals. I knew the basics of what the lyrics meant but I did not need to translate the singing to enjoy it. Recordings such as Andrea Bocelli's Time to Say Good Bye or Sarah Brightman's duet or solo performances worked good for me. Also, some light pop-jazz worked for me (Diana Krall/Love Letters) . I find it is important that the musical arrangement be of high quality so the various sounds work together vs conflicting.

I found that I need to simply occupy the audio channel of my brain so I am not actively thinking. Repetitive audio means my brain knows what to expect and can get lost in the flow of the music. If the music ends and I am triggered into an active thought process, I need to start over.

I hope this helps.

My best to you.

My best to you.

[SweetC]

It is hard for me to shut my brain off more than ever after my injury and I often use rain or ocean sounds to distract my mind.

I use the Sleep Stream app pretty regularly to help me relax and go to sleep. There's a pre-sleep meditation that works for me most of the times I've used it. The app does have binaural beats you can layer over nature sounds and white noise but I haven't really explored them.

It's funny; I have noticed that days when I've overloaded myself, the soothing sounds are no longer soothing. Even the most subtle white noise is too much to handle. Another funny thing happened last night. My 5 yr old wanted to sleep with me in my bed and requested the spa music option. I had to change it because it was actually jarring to me and I started feeling dizzy...while laying down. That was weird. I love music, but since my injury, I avoid all of it because it's all been too much.

Has anyone else had sounds or music make them dizzy?

[ilikepolkadots]

It's funny; I have noticed that days when I've overloaded myself, the soothing sounds are no longer soothing. Even the most subtle white noise is too much to handle. Another funny thing happened last night. My 5 yr old wanted to sleep with me in my bed and requested the spa music option. I had to change it because it was actually jarring to me and I started feeling dizzy...while laying down. That was weird. I love music, but since my injury, I avoid all of it because it's all been too much.

Has anyone else had sounds or music make them dizzy?[/QUOTE]


I have tried many and like 'Activation Life' CDs I listen to when I can't fall asleep as they are repetitive sounds every 5 minutes or so. I also like dream inducer in theta mode and I overlay it with iREst yoga by Jeanne Dillion in the iTunes Store and that really relaxes me and I can rest.

I'd be weary though as I also get dizzy with some sounds and some beats so just like every injury is different so is each individual's recovery. Practice and see how you do with different types!