Binaural Recording Article

Binaural Beat: The Expanded Usage of the Binaural Beat in the 21st Century

In the 1800s, a dedicated researcher actually discovered what has become known as the binaural beat. In reality, the scientific underpinnings of the binaural beat are complicated -- both in effect and explanation. However, the binaural beat principle or concept can be fairly readily explained in layperson’s terms.

The binaural beat involves the presentation of two different tones in each of a subject’s ears. These tones must be within certain and very limited frequency ranges. When these tones are presented, according to the concept of the binaural beat, the brain does not receive and process these tones independently. Rather, the brain reacts to these individual and slightly different tones as if there was a direct physical stimulus to the brain independent and different from the individual tones that are sent through the human ear to the brain from processing. The brain reacts in this manner even though there has been no physical stimulus of the type to cause the end effect.

An example is illustrative. There are different types of waves at work within the human brain. Some of these waves can effect and impact a person’s ability to relax. The binaural beat can be utilized to impact those particular brainwaves that have the propensity to induce a sense of relaxation. The binaural beat causes the brain to react and cause a person to feel relaxed in the same manner as if the person were receiving the stimuli associated with lying back on a warm beach on a perfect afternoon.

Because of the concrete impact that binaural beat can have on the brain, binaural beat principles are now being more widely applied. As was mentioned, it has been demonstrated that the binaural beat concept can cause a person to be relaxed. Therefore, binaural beat is being applied by a growing number of professionals who are involved in developing relaxation and meditative techniques for their clients.

Research has also begun to demonstrate that certain tones utilized through the binaural beat process can also stimulate glands with the human body causing the release of certain hormones that can have a positive impact on a person’s overall sense of well being.

At the extreme end of the spectrum, there are some individuals who incorporate the binaural beat into their so-called healing or restorative practices that maintain beyond relaxation and meditation, the binaural beat can enhance so-called lucid dreaming. Moreover, there are unscientific claims that the binaural beat can be used to achieve astral projection, telepathy and out of body experiences in some people. Of course, while there are many people today who do believe that the binaural beat can have this type of effect on a person, many other people argue that there simply are no bona fide scientific findings to support these types of experiences.