Some time ago I had looked into a science known as binaural beats. It’s only now that I’ve come back around to looking into it because of my ADD (aka ADHD-I). Back then I had been learning about it because it had a lot to do with my studies on meditation and hypnosis. I had tested it’s affects before with alpha waves, which are typically associated with a state of REM, and theta waves, which are typically associated with sleeping without dreams or REM. That’s where people’s brain waves are during meditation and self-hypnosis typically. I believe it’s the same for normal hypnosis, though I can’t remember and so won’t say that it’s true. I used to try meditation and at one point had learned how to successfully meditate. Then I had learned how to successfully send myself into hypnosis. At that time I remember that both had sent me into the same sort of feeling, i.e. lower theta to higher alpha brain waves. Though I have to say that self-hypnosis typically sent my eyes into an amazingly fast flutter in comparison to meditation.
It was about this time that I discovered binaural beats, a way of combining two different noise frequency pulses, that when put on with headphones, would become one sound that “speaks” to the brain directly. In more accurate words, it influences the brain waves; you can think of it as your brain wanting to match with the frequency it hears around it. Of course hearing this I was highly skeptical and wondered that, “if this really worked, then why is it not being used?” Looking into binaural beat generators, I found a handful on the web (I’m not linking). I had decided to go into a meditative position and then just listened to the binaural beats on an alpha wave (8-12Hz). It was less than 5-minutes in when my eyes started fluttering and they didn’t just start fluttering, it also seemed like I was in a much deeper state of REM than any other time before. This stunned me.
Now, while I was still skeptical, because I’d reached a state of REM before with meditation; I figured I needed to test it elsewhere. Not explaining what it was, I set the generator to theta waves and put it on my, now ADHD diagnosed, nephew who, at the time, was 6-years-old, for 10-minutes. He sat on a chair next to me and 7-minutes in was completely asleep. I next set my brother up, who was 23-years-old at the time, with theta waves. 8-minutes in he was completely zoned out. Once he realized how zoned out he was, he removed his headphones and stood up very quickly. I assume to attempt to wake up, though he was drowsy for at least another half-hour afterwards. It was soon after that I stopped researching these things because I became busy.
Over a year later, after reading up to try and fully understand my ADD (ADHD-I), I came across a lot of reading that explained the typical brain activity of someone with ADD. What’s most interesting about it is how the ADD brain will go through the different brain waves like anyone else, but it’s just always on the high end, which means that it’s like it’s typically on the wrong “mode” of the correct wave at the right time. This is caused by lack of brain producing substances that help control activity. That said, where do binaural beats come in? Well, I got interested in trying binaural beats again, but this time with focus on, well, getting myself focused. So I decided to start playing with binaural beats at times where I’m doing a certain activity. In the morning, after waking up, I play beats that are in the high alpha range. Soon after I will play 10-minutes of a lower beta (aka beta 1) range of 13-16Hz, with the intention that I will be more focused and alert. When I come to a situation where I’m having problems thinking, I will play gamma waves with the intention that my problem solving and mental activity will increase. When going to sleep at night I play 10-minutes of low alpha waves, which I have automatically followed by 10-minutes of high theta waves.
Where did all of this get me? I wonder that myself. I’ve been waking up and sleeping much more consistently than usual for the last two weeks. As far as my work is concerned, I seem to have a much stronger ability to focus on it and I haven’t stopped working on one of my projects for, well, two weeks now. Which is like a world record. I question if it’s truly a cure or if I’ve tricked my brain with little less than a placebo. All-in-all, I can’t say with certainty as to how it will help me, my future, and the future of all of those suffering from ADD. One thing is for sure though, I just focused on writing this article over the last hour with lower beta binaural beats playing in the background of my earbuds.
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