Binaural beats are talked about frequently and are often misunderstood. They are associated with all kinds of things from simple meditation and their calming properties to pain relief and treatment of addiction to the more mysterious such as lucid dreaming, astral projection and the recovery of repressed memories. The question still stands though, what exactly are binaural beats?

In their most simple form, binaural beats are audio files, typically on CDs or in MP3 form. These audio tracks are beating tracks emitted in stereo so a different beat is presented to each ear. They are most effective (some say only effective) when listened to via headphones. The beats are low frequency tones typically 1000 to 1500 hertz. The two tones have a small difference in frequency which the brain puts together to form a single beating tone. These beats can influence the brain in subtle ways known as entrainment of brainwaves.

Binaural beats are used to induce certain effects. By feeding the brain frequencies it associates with certain effects such as sleep, it can then induce the desired effect. This is where binaural beats medical applications come in. Although not supported on the whole by the medical industry it has been well documented as a method of treatment for sleeping disorders and addictions. Read the rest of this entry »