Since the 1930s brainwave entrainment has been a subject of scientific research and how it can be used to alter states of consciousness. Over the last few years there has been a growing craze amongst the general public with this phenomenon.  However, brainwave entrainment may sound complicated but you certainly do not need to be a brain surgeon to understand it.

Before we divulge further into explaining the true nature of brainwave entrainment we first need to understand a little about brainwaves. Just like the heart, the brain also has a beat or rather a pulse. However, unlike the heart the brain pulses around 3-100 times a second. These pulses are often referred to as brainwaves.

Different brainwave frequencies correspond to various mental states. Although brainwave frequencies exist across a wide spectrum, they are generally classified into five main groups. 

In layman terms, brainwave entrainment is a practice of synchronizing the brainwave frequency to any given external frequency in order to induce an altered mind state to help improve psychological and physiological disorders.

Brainwave entrainment can be achieved through either sound or images or both and usually attempted with specialized software. The entrainment is often aural, as in the case of binaural and isochronic tones, or else visual, as with a dream-machine, or a combination of both with a mind-machine.

With binaural beats brainwave entrainment is achieved when audio signals are introduced to the brain causing a response directly related to the frequency of the signal introduced. Two tones close in frequency are used to generate a beat frequency at the difference of the frequencies, which is generally subsonic.

For example, a 295 Hz tone and 305 Hz tone will produce a subsonic 10 Hz tone, roughly in the middle of the alpha range. Note that this effect is achieved without either ear hearing the pulse when headphones are used. Instead, the brain produces the pulse by combining the two tones. Each ear hears only a steady tone.

With this technique brainwave entrainment is achieved by the neural output from the ears and created within the olivary body within the brain, in its attempt to “locate” the direction of the sound based on phase. Monaural beats are the result of the arithmetic sum of the waveforms of the two tones as they add or subtract from each other, becoming louder and quieter and louder again.

Isochronic Tones only use a single tone, which is manually spaced to switch on/off in a particular pattern to achieve brainwave entrainment. This makes it more effective because the brain doesn’t have to do the extra work of putting the two tones together. The Isochronic tone technology has been fully tested and is proven to work.  Isochronic tones reduce stress and have all of the benefits of binaural beats.

Audio visual brainwave entrainment is another form of brainwave entrainment. With this method light flashes and tones are used to guide the brain into various states of brainwave activity. Audio Visual brainwave Entrainment devices are often termed light and sound machines or mind-machines.

Brainwave entrainment is more effective if the entrainment frequency is close to the user’s starting dominant frequency which is likely to be around 20 Hz or less for a waking person, and gradually decreasing it to achieve the desired state of mind.

However, some people may find listening to pure sine waves unpleasant, so pleasant background sounds may be mixed to make the experience more enjoyable.

Brainwave Entrainment Benefits

There are various benefits of brainwave entrainment of which only the main ones are listed below:-

• Improved sleep
• Behaviour modification (eliminating bad habits)
• Health improvement
• Enhanced focus, creativity and problem solving
• Relaxation and stress reduction
• Help with ADD/ADHD
• Heightened spiritual connection

If you wish to create the life of your dreams, you need to control your thoughts, energy at the subconscious level. One extremely powerful way of doing this is by using meditation combined with positive affirmations, induced through brainwave entrainment.