In today’s fast-paced world, it is easy for us to get stressed, but finding calm is sometimes harder. Whether we’re dealing with a bad day at work, poor exam scores, or even find ourselves stressed by something positive in our lives, it may feel like we don’t catch a break at times. However, despite the dread we can feel in the midst of stressful days, we can take steps to help us feel more relaxed and calmer. One of the best methods is the use of binaural beats, which we will explore in-depth today.
In this article, we’ll explore the science behind binaural beats and how they interact with our brains. We’ll also look at the best binaural beats you can use for stress relief and why specific beats are able to encourage a sense of calm within us. By the end of this, you’ll have a greater understanding of how binaural beats can alleviate your stress and the best methods to try. Let’s first discuss why binaural beats are so effective and what they do to our brains.
How Binaural Beats Impact Our Brains and Our Sleep
Binaural beats are defined as rhythmic stimuli that create a specific frequency that alters our brainwaves, usually to encourage stress relief, sleep, or other effects. When you listen to binaural beats, you’ll hear particular frequencies, and your brain will then perceive them and it will react a certain way. There are a few specific binaural beat types to choose from:
- Delta Waves: Best for restorative, deep sleep.
- Theta Waves: Best for light sleep and meditation.
- Alpha Waves: Best for light meditation and stress relief.
- Beta Waves: Best for active thinking and problem-solving.
- Gamma Waves: Best for processing information and stress mitigation.
One of the fascinating effects that binaural beats have on the brain is brain entrainment, which is when your brain synchronizes to the beats you are listening to. What happens typically is that you’ll hear two binaural beats in your ears.
However, as this is happening, your brain will perceive a third tone identical to the difference between the tones you are already listening to. This then impacts your nervous system and your brain state (Source: Biomedical Signal Processing and Control). When this happens, you can induce sleep, relaxation, lowered heart rates, and even lower cortisol levels.
So, as you can see, binaural beats are an essential mechanism to encourage brain entrainment and even better sleep and stress relief. But what binaural beats are best for stress relief, and how can you use them? Let’s explore that next!
Best Binaural Beats for Stress Relief
Alpha Waves
As we briefly discussed, alpha waves are among the best for stress relief and can help you overcome the impact of stress on the body, whether you’re dealing with chronic illnesses, poor sleep, or just simple sleep disruptions from time to time. One study showed that the use of alpha waves at 10 Hz affected participants by helping them feel more pleasure as compared to before, but there was no conclusion regarding mood changes after listening to these beats.
Alpha waves have also been studied by other scientists to show that combining binaural beats with different sounds—like ambient ocean noises—might produce some immediate benefits. However, there will always be some who may feel that the white noise combined with the binaural beats is overwhelming. Even then, there is perceived stress relief even for those who only listened to the alpha waves for only a few minutes (Source: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience).
Delta and Theta Waves
When it comes to anxiety, however, binaural beats, specifically delta and theta waves, might be a great form of therapy to help with stress relief. While these binaural beats are commonly associated with light sleep, meditation, and deep sleep, they can provide benefits even to those feeling overwhelmed or anxious.
Chinese music that included binaural beats ranging from theta to delta frequencies experienced a more significant marginal reduction in their anxiety scores, specifically those with higher baseline test scores (Source: Psychology of Music). In other words, if you’re feeling anxious and unable to sleep, listening to theta to delta waves might help you become more relaxed and lower your anxiety levels.
How to Use Binaural Beats for Stress Relief
If you’re eager to use binaural beats as a form of stress relief, there are many ways that you could do so. For starters, you could simply listen to a basic binaural beats track of your choosing. You can select from any number that is available across streaming platforms or even on social media platforms. Alternatively, you could combine your efforts with other forms of stress relief.
Some people enjoy listening to binaural beats while they are meditating. If you choose to do this, make sure that you’re in a quiet, comfortable space and that you are not going to be distracted. For best results, you’ll want to listen for at least for at least 10 minutes. You can work your way up to 30 minutes if you’d like, but studies have confirmed that even up to 10 minutes produces positive results while stimulating your brain (Source: Scientific Reports).
Above all else, make sure that you find a technique that best fits your needs and what works for you. With binaural beats, there are so many ways to leverage this form of stress relief. Whether you use an application, meditate, or listen to the track before bed in the background, you can experience notable benefits that alleviate your lingering stress.
Try Binaural Beats to See How It Helps with Your Stress
With so many studies showing how beneficial binaural beats can be for your stress, it’s definitely worth considering as an option. Even if you’ve never tried binaural beats, all it takes is a few minutes to see if it is the proper method for you. So, next time you lay down or feel too stressed, put on a track of binaural beats—preferably alpha or theta—and see what happens. We hope that this article inspired you and taught you something new!
