Do you know what binaural beats are? I see that this term is being written about more these days and often without any real explanation. So I will have a go at filling that gap.

Binaural beats are a way of delivering sounds to induce brainwave entrainment. Brainwave entrainment is fully explained here: Magnetic Sounds but briefly it is the process by which sound is used to guide the brain’s electrical pulses into a new rhythm. In the case of insomnia brainwave entrainment can guide the brain’s pulses into the rhythm of sleep. You see when we are sleeping our brainwaves are pulsing at a different rate than when we are awake. The sleeping rhythm is much slower than when we are wide awake and busy.

When we are having trouble sleeping it can be because we are stressed and unable to relax to allow our brainwaves to slow down. If we can’t relax it is not possible to sleep. You may have heard of  ‘alpha rhythm’ which is often mentioned in relation to meditation. Alpha is a relaxed rate of pulsation that happens when we slow down or close our eyes. Before we sleep we first drift into alpha rhythm, or we do if we are able to relax. Brainwave entrainment can be used to help this process along. That is why we can use it to overcome insomnia.

For insomnia you would listen to an audio that had the sleep rhythms embedded in it. We use background music to make it easier to listen to. The embedded beats guide the brainwaves into alpha, theta and then into delta over 40 to 60  minutes. You can also listen again if you wake up in the night. It is all very natural and there is nothing subliminal in it.

There are different ways in which entrainment is induced. One of these ways is by using binaural beats. This is a method that presents a different sound to each ear and that sound combines in the brain to form a new frequency which is the difference between the two frequencies being played to it. This is why you need to wear headphones to listen to binaural beats.

A similar way to use sound for  entrainment is with ‘isochronic tones’. In spite of the fact that binaural beats are better known,  isochronic tones are more effective at inducing entrainment.These tones can be listened to without headphones because the sound from the left and the right speakers, although different, will combine before entering the ears.

There are other ways to induce entrainment, the simplest being monaural beats. In In this there is only one beat , it could be a simple drum beat. Entrainment can also be used using light combined with sound.

The Sleep Sound Insomnia Program uses isochronic tones so that sleep can be induced very effectively and without the need for headphones. The sounds are embedded in soothing music and nature sounds.

Brainwave Rhythms During The Stages of Sleep

Update: “Go To Sleep“  insomnia cure CD is now available as an mp3 download. You can still buy the CD  for an additional $5.00.

The whole package includes two relaxation mp3s to use during the daytime as well as the Go To Sleep mp3 which is for listening to in bed at night. There is also an ebook about sleep and how to to get to sleep every night.

The ebook is worth reading because even though the audio is going to help you sleep the book will tell you what to do to improve your chances of getting a good sleep every night. Sleep hygeine, as it is called, is an important facto in sleeping well.

Have you heard of brainwave entrainment for sleep? It is an innovative way to go to sleep. (It can do more than induce sleep but for now let’s stick to sleep induction.) This article explains what it is all about.

Your brain uses electrical signals to communicate with all the systems in your body. The electrical pulses vary in the their rhythm depending on what you are doing. When you are wide awake your brain waves pulse faster than when you are relaxed.

The rate of these electrical pulses can be measured using an EEG (electroencephalograph) machine. They are called brainwaves because that is how they appear.

When we are alert and busy the activity in our brains is faster and the waves are closer together. When we are relaxed the wave pattern is much slower and when we first drop off to sleep it is slower still.

If, when you go to bed you are tense and anxious, or perhaps trying to solve the problems of the day, your brain waves will be running quite fast. The waves captured on an EEG will show waves that are close together and spiky. They are known as beta waves.

Relaxation causes your brain waves to pulse more slowly and the waves associated with relaxation are usually alpha waves.

You need to be relaxed for sleep to come, and yet relaxation can be very hard to achieve at times.
Brainwave entrainment for insomnia uses sound to change the rhythm of your brain waves to the rhythm of sleep.

The idea is to get the brain waves to slow right down to alpha and then slower still to theta and then delta waves. Gradually the brain’s rhythm synchronizes with the beat or tone that you are listening to. As your brainwaves slow down your body and mind relax and you drift down into a natural sleep. This can be seen in this image showing the brain matching the rhythm it hears which in this case is a 10hz pulse.
This process is backed by a mountain of scientific research conducted over the past 70 years. Much has been discovered since the initial work in the 1930s and work continues today. Let me quote from just one of the scientists working in the field:

“Its difficult to try to responsibly convey some sense of excitement about what is going on…the field is wild and intriguing… We are at a frontier, and its a terribly exciting time to be in this line of work” John Kiebeskind, UCLA neurophysiologist.

The Sleep Sound Program uses this technology to slow your brain waves into relaxation and then to sleep. As your brain waves are slowed into a normal sleep rhythm your body begins to follow suit and you drift off to sleep easily and naturally. All without having to knock yourself out with pills.

I have just finished making a new brain wave entrainment audio for sleep induction. So far only one person has tried it out, apart from me, and I need more testers. This audio uses isochronic beats which means you can listen without using headphones. The sound you will hear is the ocean. If you would like to be a beta tester for my audios read all about it here: Magnetic Sounds

Sorry not to have written here lately but I have been really busy making new audios etc. I do plan to be more regular here.  

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The only people who want to sleep like a baby have never had one! That isn't original I have to confess but it has been brought home to me how true it is as my daughter has just had a baby girl, my first grandchild.

They are exhausted and it brought it all back to me.  Those years when the children are small and sleep is something you long for more than food or sex! No problem with insomnia but a lack of sleep is pretty debilitating for anyone and especially when you have to go to work the next day. 

This set me thinking about my insomnia cure which uses brainwave entrainment to send you to sleep fast. It isn't any use to her or her husband what they need is something to help them get over their tiredness and to make the most of their shortened sleep schedule.

I have another site where I have brainwave entrainment audios and they aren't all for sleep. Its a new site and so far it has a meditation audio, a relaxation audio and a wake up audio.

I think it is time to make another one. I plan to make a power nap audio for them. A power nap will helpthem to take a short sleep during the day and wake up feeling as if they have had a good long sleep.

There is also another protocol in which you can use brainwave entrainment to shorten the hours that you need to sleep. I haven't ever tried this one but I know others who have and who say it really works. So I am going to make these and get my daughter to use them to see if it helps. If it does help this will be my next project.

I am also looking for beta testers for my audios and if you are interested in doing that then simply sign up for my newsletter at Magnetic Sounds

If you sine up before the end of February you will get a Wake Up audio that I am trying out at the moment. I will ask fo rsome feedback on this too.