Healing sounds Brainwaves, soundwaves, and binaural beats – what does it all mean, and how can we use sound to relax?
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s I write, I’m listening to ‘Dreamcatcher’, composed by Robert Foster – a piece of music on the Calm app. There’s a landscape of sound created by instruments I can’t name. What I can name, however, is how I feel when I listen to it – calm, in control, and focused. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been enjoying an array of ‘relaxation’ music. Whether I’m writing at my desk or reading before bed, it’s fast becoming the soundtrack to my days. While I’ve always known music has a profound effect on us, it wasn’t until I delved deeper into the science behind sound therapy that I understood how sound waves affect our brainwaves, and how we can utilise this relationship.
When exposed to these healing frequencies, the sound resonates within the mind and physical body, naturally releasing any emotional blocks and expanding consciousness 24 • happiful.com • June 2020
Writing | Kat Nicholls
It helps for us to first understand the main types of brainwaves: • B eta waves are associated with being alert. When we’re concentrating and analysing, we’re likely to be in a beta-dominant state. •A lpha brainwave patterns are slower and longer in frequency. When we’re in an alphadominated state we’re awake, but relaxed. • T heta brainwaves take the relaxation deeper, and include lighter stages of sleep. • F inally, delta waves are very slow, low-frequency, and are dominant when we enter into deep sleep. Scientists have found that when we’re exposed to sound waves, our brain waves can be affected. This is a process called entrainment. “This is when our brainwave activity naturally aligns with the sound’s rhythm, inducing a state of deep relaxation,” counsellor and sound therapy practitioner Deborah Holder tells me. So, by listening to low-frequency sound waves we can encourage our brainwaves to slow, too. Another important factor is the presence of binaural beats. This is when you hear two tones, one in each ear, that have slightly different
frequencies. When this happens our brain processes a third beat at the difference of the frequencies. If this difference is below 30Hz, it’s believed to reduce anxiety, encourage sleep, and even help manage pain. While the science and understanding of this is relatively new and ongoing, sound therapy has been in place for centuries. WHAT IS SOUND THERAPY? Deborah explains that sound therapy uses specially selected instruments with a high vibrational frequency and long resonance, such as singing bowls, gongs, and vocal toning in the form of chanting, humming, and singing. “When exposed to these healing frequencies, the sound resonates within the mind and physical body, naturally releasing any emotional blocks, and expanding consciousness. It reduces brainwave activity and lowers heart rate, prompting the body to self-heal and rejuvenate.” Described as an energy medicine, sound therapy has this effect on us because the cells in our body are sensitive to vibrations. If you’ve ever experienced a gong bath, you’ll no doubt know how this wall of sound feels physically and mentally.
