How To Elevate Your Cannabis Experience With Binaural Beats

Can you use sound to heal your mind and body? People who practice binary beat therapy claim that the auditory illusion and frequency pattern can encourage relaxation and improve self-reported anxiety and other benefits, including enhanced motivation, improved confidence, and emotional stimulation.

Some patients who use binaural sound therapy share results, including reduced anxiety, improved memory, and even help with preoperative anxiety before surgeries or medical procedures. Binaural beats have been shown to affect beta waves, alpha patterns, and theta patterns in the brain, sometimes with beneficial results.

Proponents of binaural beat therapy suggest that audio therapy is one of many proven self-care measures that people can try at home to improve wellness and mental health. One of the best parts is that auditory beat stimulation doesn’t have to cost anything, and there are free online resources you can use to get started.

What about binaural beats therapy combined with dosing medical cannabis? Some studies suggest that stimulating brain waves after consuming cannabis can increase the wellness benefits of cannabis. Sound therapy is well documented as a method to support ongoing anxiety treatment and may assist with symptom management.

What Are Binaural Beats?

Binaural beats are created with two different frequencies, one played in each ear. Combined, the sounds create a third frequency range known as binaural beats. For example, if the left ear receives a 400 Hz tone and the right ear receives a 410 Hz tone, the human brain waves register a 10 Hz binaural beat.

Different types of frequencies are believed to cause unique reactions, from emotional stimulation to physical relaxation. Some binaural beats therapy may also improve concentration and focus. Some of the most common reasons that people use binaural beats therapy are to address stress, low mood (depression), and insomnia.

What Does Science Say About Sound Therapy?

Because results vary, scientific evidence regarding how effective binaural beats can be in terms of wellness benefits is mixed. Some studies identified conflicting data where researchers indicated that the effects were placebo in effect or psychosomatic. Other studies suggest that it is an accessible method of meditation that can have profound wellness benefits on both the mind and body.

From stimulating positive emotional arousal (energy and mood-lifting effects) to helping patients undergoing general anesthesia, there are many ways that binaural beats can promote improved wellness and reduced anxiety.

 

How Do Binaural Beats Affect Brain Activity and the Human Body?

Vibrational healing isn’t new. As we discussed, sound wave therapy has been part of natural medicine since the earliest civilizations. There are ancient Egyptian medical resources that claim sound therapy was actively used before and during surgical procedures and in convalescent patient care.

Sound healing remains an important part of Tibetan culture. Using Tibetan Singing Bowls, monks have used binaural beats for centuries to assist with meditation, mindfulness training, and spiritual healing for over 5,000 years!

Drums and rattles have been used to accelerate healing in other cultures too, such as the ancient Babylonians and the Aboriginal peoples in Australia. Vibrations from musical instruments were key to the practice of medicine.

Binaural beats are known to cause the basilar membranes in the brain to resonate with the same frequency. Two similar tones are believed to cause an overlapping effect on the basilar membrane. Instead of hearing two separate tones, your ears combine the audio input or synchronize them, creating the average between the two, which is called binaural beats. The frequency pattern must be less than 1,000 Hz to be effective.

While sound therapy all but disappeared in Western culture, it began to make a strong comeback in the early 1940s. Today, meditation with binaural beats can be found at yoga centers and at hospitals. Modern medical procedures, such as shrinking tumors and breaking up kidney stones, can be performed using ultrasound waves.

Some of your favorite “feel good” songs may have been engineered with some subliminal binaural beats. To be effective, you should listen only to the binaural beats in isolation from other sounds so that the frequency is not altered.

Various Frequencies Used For Different Wellness Outcomes

The wellness benefits of binaural beat technology may not be well understood, even though it has been a part of human culture for more than five centuries. If you are interested in trying binaural beat therapy at home, there are a few things you should know about the different types of sound frequencies and the effects they can cause.

Further research is needed, but here is a summary of the slightly different frequencies:

Delta Wave Binaural Beats

Binaural beats that are designed to promote relaxation and sleep have the lowest sound frequency. The lower frequency pattern accounts for the sedative effect that they may cause, which is ideal for people who struggle with insomnia or disrupted sleep cycles.

Frequencies of 0.5 to 4 HZ may contribute to improved deep sleep phases. Deep sleep is the most restorative level of rest your body and brain enter into every night. The average American spends about 13% to 23% of their total sleep time in deep sleep or approximately two hours.

• Adults aged 18-64 should get between 1.5 to 2.25 hours of deep sleep per evening.
• Adults aged 65 and older should achieve up to 25% of total sleep time in the deep sleep phase.

The good news is that, on average, Americans are getting enough deep sleep. If you are using a Fitbit or other wellness tracker, you can check your daily sleep report to find out if you are getting adequate amounts of the most important phase in your sleep cycle. If not, you may want to try listening to audio with a delta wave binaural beat.

Theta Waves

Using binaural beats therapy and targeting theta waves may help stimulate a burst of creativity, improve focus during meditation, or help you get to sleep. The average frequency of theta patterns is 6-7 HZ, and they are associated with states of deep sleep and relaxation.

The difference between delta wave binaural beats and theta frequencies is that theta patterns contribute to REM sleep. Delta waves do not trigger REM sleep, which is where your brain triggers the occurrence of dreams. Theta waves can result in more vivid dreams.

Alpha Pattern Binaural Beats

Feeling burnt out and overtired? You may want to try alpha pattern binaural beats therapy. The frequency of the alpha pattern averages from 7 Hz to 13 Hz and is believed to stimulate deep relaxation.

The alpha pattern frequency has been used worldwide for pre and post-operative procedures as an alternative health treatment because it may cause feelings of relaxation and overall refreshment of normal energy levels.

Beta Pattern Frequencies

When you want to improve concentration and alertness, beta pattern frequencies of binaural beats may help supercharge your brain waves and help you restore energy and focus. The average frequency of beta binaural beats is 13 Hz to 30 Hz.

Gamma Binaural Beats

Heading to Six Flags or Disney Land? Gamma pattern binaural beats may help when you want to achieve the highest level of alertness, motivation, focus, and overall cognitive sharpness. The gamma frequency pattern accounts for the highest level of audio stimulation and effects on the brain, averaging approximately 30 Hz to 50 Hz.

Sound Wave Therapy and Potential Health Benefits

Binaural beats have been suggested to offer various potential therapeutic benefits, although the scientific evidence supporting these claims is still evolving. Here are some of the proposed benefits, along with explanations of how sound may provide mental and physical health benefits:

Relaxation and Stress Reduction

Our contemporary life is full of far more intricacies and stressors than ever before. It is no wonder that Americans list stress as one of the top health concerns since chronic stress is linked to cardiovascular risks, obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure), depression, anxiety, and much more.

One of the complex challenges is not understanding that chronic stress is bad for your health but finding affordable and convenient ways to practice effective stress management skills. Binaural beats, combined with deep breathing exercises or meditation, could be a way to do just that.

May Improve Focus and Concentration

Whether you are at work and struggling to concentrate among distractions or at home trying to focus on learning something new (or completing an important task), binaural beats may help make concentration much easier.

Both alpha and beta frequency ranges (8 Hz to 30 Hz) are thought to enhance your concentration skills. That is because the sound frequencies may help synchronize neural activity in the regions of the brain that are responsible for attention and cognition.

Can Enhance Effects of Meditation and Mindfulness Exercises

Meditation may be beneficial for both the mind and body. You don’t have to strike a yoga pose to get the benefits of meditation; you can do it while relaxing quietly on your sofa. Putting your brain into a zone of relaxing mindfulness may happen with binaural beats. Theta patterns (4 Hz to 8 Hz) or beta frequencies (0.5 Hz to 4 Hz) may contribute to meditative states.

Think Tibetan monks and singing bowls and the potential benefits of reduced anxiety, inner peace, and feelings of tranquility. Binaural beats can help drown out “mental chatter” or stressful feelings, allowing you to breathe, relax, and achieve emotional stillness.

 

May Help Improve Sleep Cycles and Relieve Insomnia

It takes more than one night of good sleep to “catch up” when you have problems with insomnia. In fact, the cumulative effects of sleep deprivation present a significant risk to your overall health. When you don’t sleep, irritability or “feeling tired” are only the tip of the iceberg. Insomnia can impact your mental health and increase the risk of developing chronic diseases.

Proponents of binaural beats share that the delta pattern frequency range is the best for calming upsetting thoughts or worries and may even help with pain relief, allowing you to drift off for a good night’s sleep.

Sound Can Assist in Pain Management

The ancient Egyptians were believed to be the first to use sound frequencies to provide relief before and after surgical procedures. Supporters of sound therapy state that binaural beats can actually alter pain perception by modulating neural oscillations in the brain.

There is actually a lot of scientific discussion about brain stimulation techniques using sound. Certain prescription drugs work by modulating neural oscillations in the brain, and that affects pain processing. Or how much do we perceive the pain we are actually experiencing by affecting the activity of neurotransmitters?

Mindfulness training and meditation can also influence neural oscillations, which is why focused relaxation combined with deep breathing can also be an effective way to reduce pain. Some people have experienced great pain relief by combining meditation with auditory beat stimulation.

Combining Cannabis and Binaural Beats Therapy

Binaural beats can have different effects on individuals. There haven’t been many studies that evaluate the effects, potential benefits, or risks associated with sound therapy. Both binaural beats and cannabis can influence cognitive functioning and cause psychoactive effects.

People who experience high levels of anxiety or paranoia should discuss sound therapy and cannabis with a healthcare provider first before trying it. Consider the strain and product you choose carefully, leaning more toward an Indica-dominant hybrid for relaxation, mild sedation, and pain relief.

Some comments from patients suggest avoiding Sativa dominant strains with beta or gamma pattern frequencies. That may cause an increased risk of experiencing heightened anxiety or paranoia.

Where Can You Find Free Binaural Beats Audio Tracks?

YouTube is a fantastic source for free binaural beats therapy. You can search by your desired frequency, i.e., beta, theta, alpha, gamma, and delta waves. Amazon also has a variety of MP3s you can purchase and download to your smartphone to give it a try.

If you plan on trying binaural beats for insomnia, falling asleep with earbuds on or a headset isn’t practical. But there are headband devices that go over your ears, and they are very comfortable to use. You can find products for sound therapy on Amazon.