According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, nearly 7% of American adults are directly impacted by Major Depressive Disorder each year. With each newly diagnosed case, doctors are prescribing exorbitant amounts of depression medications designed to alter the release of hormones associated with mood and emotions. In the last several years, many have begun to resist prescription medications and focus on natural remedies for major depression symptoms.
So, can binaural beats help with depression? Binaural beats can absolutely help reduce the major signs and symptoms of depression. By listening to binaural beats in the alpha range, you can improve your mood and increase serotonin levels in your body.
Before you begin to treat your depression on your own, it’s important to learn the ins and outs of this mental health disorder. You can then decide the best course of action when it comes to treating your depression.
An Overview of Depression
Depression is a mental health condition characterized by a consistently low mood and lack of interest in normal day-to-day tasks and hobbies. Depression doesn’t only affect you mentally and emotionally, but also physically and socially.
Depression is a complicated disorder because it manifests itself in everybody differently, can be caused by a multitude of factors, and requires many different methods of treatment to get it under control. Take a look at the effects depression may have on your mind and body.
How depression effects your mind and your body
As we already touched on, depression has the ability to affect nearly every aspect of your life. Your depression might seem manageable for now, but there are long-term consequences if it’s left untreated.
Here are some ways depression may affect you.
- Physically: Depression has the ability to impact the functioning of your cardiovascular system (blood pressure and heart rate), reduce the effectiveness of your immune system, and make you more susceptible to conditions like heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes.
- Emotionally: The emotional effects of depression are the most straightforward. You might lose interest in hobbies you normally enjoy, have a persistent low mood, feel the need to isolate yourself socially, and feel generally lonely.
- Mentally: When you’re depressed, your cognitive abilities begin to suffer. You might experience a lack of focus, motivation, and inability to think quickly or logically. This can severely impact your productivity at school and work.
- Socially: As depression begins to set in, you’re more likely to develop insecurities and low mood that causes social isolation, strained relationships, and chronic loneliness. If not addressed soon enough, social effects may be difficult to reverse.
Many people view depression as chronic sadness, but there’s much more to the condition than that. By understanding how severe depression can be, you can more effectively treat your depression from every possible angle.
How the role of serotonin effects you
Though serotonin is not the only neurotransmitter responsible for controlling mood and emotions, a lack of serotonin can definitely impact these aspects of your life.
So, why is serotonin so important?
There’s nothing that definitively says that a lack of serotonin causes depression. However, there is evidence that a boost in serotonin can actually improve your mood.
This explains why medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are so popular in treating depressive disorders.
With that information, there’s an implication that increasing the amount of serotonin released in your body can significantly improve your symptoms of depression.
Binaural Beats & Depression
There are several ways that you can tackle your depression and it’s incredibly important to try to do so from every possible angle. For one, binaural beats can be an effective tool in reducing depression symptoms, but you need to listen to them strategically in order to experience the most benefits.
Because depression is a multi-faceted condition, there are many other steps that you should be taking to help target symptom reduction. That means taking full advantage of things like a healthy diet, getting quality sleep, and exercising frequently.
Changing Your Mood
When you’re looking to target the symptoms of your depression, you’re usually looking to change your mood and outlook on life. There are several ways you can do that, most of which don’t involve medical interventions.
Here are some easy strategies you can try to implement to target your depression and how they actually work.
- Meditation: When you meditate, you’re focusing on the present moment rather than the past or future. This is an incredible tool for reducing stress and anxiety while also promoting an overwhelming sense of calmness. Meditation can be an effective tool in boosting your mood and redirecting your focus to positive thoughts.
- Healthy Eating: Surprisingly, one of the major causes of depression is an unbalanced diet. When you consume large amounts of processed foods that include large amounts of sodium, sugar, and fat, you’re not getting all of the nutrients your body needs. The best thing you can do is strive toward a balanced diet that’s rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
- Sleep: Most people don’t realize just how important sleep is. When you’re asleep, your body heals itself emotionally and physically. When you get quality sleep, your body is more refreshed and you’re less likely to experience bouts of insomnia or other sleep-related issues that can also impact your mood.
- Begin Exercising: Exercise is perhaps the most effective method of reducing symptoms of depression, but finding the motivation to exercise could be a bit difficult. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins that provide a natural boost to your mood. Though the effects are short-lived, continuing an exercise regimen has great potential to improve your mood long-term.
- Doing Things that Make You Happy: This one is pretty straightforward. When you surround yourself with those you care about and do things you enjoy, you might find more enjoyment in your life and a sense of happiness as well.
The best method of treating your depression is a combination of all of these. Only targeting one of these factors will help, but you won’t even come close to the mental state you’re looking to be in.
Depression can be extremely serious. It’s recommended that you consult your doctor when you notice signs of depression developing.
How Binaural Beats Can Help
In addition to the methods we just mentioned, binaural beats can also help you to improve your symptoms of depression.
Here’s how.
When you listen to binaural beats in the alpha range (8-12 Hz), you can directly improve your mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and achieve a state of calmness. These are vital if you have a persistent low mood and lack of motivation.
In addition, you can also listen to binaural beats within the delta (1-4 Hz) and theta (4-8 Hz) ranges. When these brainwaves are activated, you are more likely to get restful sleep, which could also improve your mood and depression symptoms.
Conclusion
Depression is a very complicated disorder that literally impacts every single part of your life. Nevertheless, there are many ways you can help reduce the symptoms of your depression and improve the overall quality of your life. Here are a few ways you can do that.
- Mediate on a daily basis to boost your mood and listen to binaural beats in the alpha range.
- Eat a balanced diet full of vitamins and minerals and begin implementing a new exercise plan.
- Focus on getting a good night’s sleep.