Listening to binaural beats has proven to be an effective strategy in affecting hormones and chemicals within the body while also reducing stress and providing a sense of relaxation. However, just like any therapeutic method, there are specific guidelines you need to follow to get the most out of it. When it comes to binaural beats, the most important factor is how you listen to them.
So, do I need headphones to listen to binaural beats? Yes. Though you can listen to binaural beats through any device, the best way to listen is with stereo headphones. With these headphones, you’ll be able to hear the different frequencies in each ear and experience the full effects of binaural beats.
Binaural beats are a relatively new therapeutic strategy that can help target several aspects of your mind and body. While the concept of binaural beats seems complicated at first, it’s a simple idea that’s easy to understand.
An Overview of Binaural Beats
Binaural beats are becoming much more popular as a therapeutic method to heal the mind and body. The best thing about binaural beats is that they can affect the functioning of your body and mind without requiring medication, supplements, or any special changes to your life.
They’re easy to use and can help you reach your health goals in an all-natural way. Read on to learn about how binaural beats work and what they can do for you!
How They Work
When you listen to binaural beats with stereo headphones, a different frequency is played in each ear. While each ear hears its own sound, your brain begins to hear a third sound that essentially makes up the difference between the two different frequencies.
The third sound is of particular interest and is what actually causes the health and wellness benefits associated with binaural beats. It encourages the activation of certain brainwaves, which we’ll go into shortly.
Reprogramming Your Brain
In every waking moment of your life, there are different types of brainwaves active within your brain. Each task and function of the body and brain has a preference when it comes to brainwaves.
That means that when a certain type of brainwave is more active, certain bodily functions are more likely to occur.
Brainwaves are described by their frequencies, as are sounds. When you listen to binaural beats at a certain frequency, you’re able to encourage the associated brainwaves to become more active and produce the effects that you’re looking for.
In short, you’re reprogramming your brainwaves to achieve your desired health and wellness goals.
Why You Should Listen to Binaural Beats
There are plenty of reasons to listen to binaural beats. Though the most common reasons are reducing stress and anxiety, improving mood and relaxation, and enabling meditation, other positive effects occur at each frequency range.
Let’s take a look at how each frequency range affects the body and mind.
- Delta (1-4 Hz): Listening to binaural beats within the delta range has the greatest number of potential benefits. When the most active brainwaves are delta waves, you’re either meditating deeply or fast asleep. At this point, your body is more likely to release chemicals and hormones like serotonin, DMT, HGH, testosterone, and estrogen.
- Theta (4-8 Hz): As you’re falling asleep at night, your brain enters into a state with predominantly theta waves. This point is considered the “twilight stage,” as you’re still somewhat conscious. When you’re in this state, you’re likely to have reduced anxiety levels, greater creativity, and you may experience lucid dreams or astral projection.
- Alpha (8-13 Hz): When you activate more alpha waves within your brain, you’ll experience an overwhelming sense of calmness and relaxation. These conditions are perfect for learning and memory but are also effective at reducing stress and anxiety levels in listeners.
- Beta (14-30 Hz): By listening to binaural beats in the beta range, you’ll be able to improve your focus and motivation. These conditions are ideal for creating new ideas, studying, and learning new concepts.
- Gamma (30+ Hz): When you listen to the higher gamma frequencies, you’re more likely to experience psychedelic effects like hallucinations as a result of your body’s additional release of chemicals like DMT. At these frequencies, you could also attempt to open your third eye and experience intense enlightenment and creativity.
Binaural beats can effectively help you reach any health goal you have, but you need to listen to them strategically. For example, you can’t listen to binaural beats within the gamma range and expect the effects that normally occur at the alpha range.
Headphones & Binaural Beats
To make your binaural beats experience more effective and enjoyable, you need to make sure you have the right headphones. If you’re using the speaker from your mobile phone, computer, or television, you will not get the full effect or the benefits you’re looking for.
However, you can’t just use any set of headphones to get the perfect experience. To heighten the effects that binaural beats produce, you’ll need headphones that meet a variety of criteria. Fortunately, there are plenty of viable options on the market that are both high-quality and easy on the wallet.
Recommendations
There are many things you should be looking for when you’re planning to listen to binaural beats. Here’s a brief list of the ideal qualities of headphones for binaural beats.
- Natural Sounds (No Bass Boost): When binaural beats tracks are produced, they’re created intentionally. That means they have specific frequencies in each ear that are meant to be listened to exactly as-is. Try to select headphones that do not boost the bass or alter the sound in any way.
- Over-the-Ear: The best headphones would be over-the-ear headphones. Not only are they more comfortable to wear for an extended period, but they can also guarantee you’re receiving all qualities of the sound being produced by the headphones.
- Noise-Canceling: If you’re in a physical environment that’s full of noise pollution or distractions, noise-canceling headphones can guarantee that you’ll get the full experience.
- Stereo: This is, by far, the most important quality. With stereo headphones, you’ll be able to hear the separate frequencies in each ear as the producer of the sound intended.
The perfect set of headphones would have all of these qualities. Here are some of our top choices for binaural beats headphones based on these characteristics.
- Philips SHP6000 HiFi Stereo Wired Headphone – Comfortable, over-the-ear fit, and noise-canceling (cheap option)
- OneOdio Adapter-Free Closed Back Over-Ear DJ Stereo Headphones – High-quality sound, longer cord, and adjustable ear cups (cheap option)
- Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone – Foldable, over-the-ear, and noise-canceling
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones – Highly rated, suitable for all frequency ranges, and noise-canceling
- COWIN E7 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones – Bluetooth – Wireless/Bluetooth-enabled, crisp sound, and built-in microphone
All of these headphones will provide an optimal binaural beats listening experience. And they’ll also provide terrific sound quality for when you want to listen to regular music, too.
Conclusion
Listening to binaural beats at any frequency range can significantly improve your health. However, if you’re looking to get the most out of binaural beats, you need to make sure that you get a set of headphones that are conducive to better listening.
Here are some things you should look for when picking out headphones to use:
- When a binaural beats track is produced, it has separate sounds for the right and left ear. The only way to guarantee you hear them separately is through stereo headphones.
- To prevent outside distractions, you can purchase noise-canceling headphones.
- Use over-the-ear headphones whenever possible to get the full effect.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Binaural Beats
- Wikipedia: Delta Wave
- Wikipedia: Theta Wave
- Wikipedia: Alpha Wave
- Wikipedia: Beta Wave
- Wikipedia: Gamma Wave
- Amazon: Philips SHP6000 HiFi Stereo Wired Headphone
- Amazon: OneOdio Adapter-Free Closed Back Over-Ear DJ Stereo Headphones
- Amazon: Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone
- Amazon: Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones
- Amazon: COWIN E7 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones – Bluetooth