Don't worry though, you don't need to know all that information to enjoy the benefits of a sound bath!
Join one of our upcoming sound baths and experience all the benefits for yourself.
What Do Sound Baths Actually Do To Your Brain?
If you've listened to music before, you probably can relate to how different types of music can have a different affect on you. Maybe some songs make you feel energetic while others make you feel sad. Music is a repetition of sound, or melody.
Sound baths are similar to music, but do not usually have a repetitive nature. A sound bath can have a large impact on your physical, mental, and emotional bodies.
We know you might be skeptical about them or simply curious about how they work. That's human nature, after all, right?!
There's 4 main ways that sound waves and sound baths affect our bodies:
- Sympathetic resonance,
- Brainwave entrainment,
- Frequency following response, and
- Balancing left / right brain hemispheres.
SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE
Resonance is by physics definition: the reinforcement or prolongation of sound by reflection from a surface or by the synchronous vibration of a neighboring object.
In simple terms this means that, a sound wave (frequency) that is similar to another weaker frequency can bring the weaker frequency into balance with the stronger frequency.
The cells of our bodies have their own vibrational patterns (or frequencies) and our bodies have areas of imbalance. These imbalanced areas have weakened frequencies. By applying a stronger frequency, we can balance the areas of our bodies and bring them back to their natural state.
BRAINWAVE ENTRAINMENT
Sound baths also work through entrainment, a law of physics. Entrainment is the predisposition that two oscillating bodies have whereby they will lock into phase so that they vibrate in harmony with one another. Entrainment occurs when two or more rhythmic cycles become synchronized.
Scientist Christian Huygens discovered entrainment in 1656. He put two unsynchronized clocks side by side and discovered that they gradually began to synchronize. The precision of this synchronization was so accurate that even mechanical intervention could not match it. Another example of this is when women's menstrual cycles sync up to each other if they spend a majority of their time together.
This same law applies to our brains. Brainwave entrainment is the brain’s electrical response to rhythmic sensory stimulation, such as pulses of sound or light. Another term for this is Frequency Following Response (FFR).
To sum this up, our brains respond to sounds via electrical responses and these responses ultimately become the things we see, hear, and feel.
FREQUENCY FOLLOWING RESPONSE
By using FFR, we can stimulate certain brainwaves that are linked to positive well being.
For example, when working with the 4–8 Hertz theta brainwave frequency, we can create positive changes. Theta is associated with both sleep and deep meditative states. Therefore, working with a 4–8 Hz sound pattern can be helpful in creating the sleep and meditative states which can help people with insomnia, stress, and anxiety.
Certain sounds will activate different brainwaves and can help manifest creativity, grounding sensations, relaxation, and more.
BALANCING LEFT / RIGHT BRAIN HEMISPHERES
The left brain hemisphere is known to correspond to reasoning and emotional objectivity. The right hemisphere is linked to creativity, intuition, and empathy.
Sound can help the two hemispheres of the brain to synchronize and can improve your health. Brain balancing with sound is referred to as ‘Hemi-Sync’ ® named by the Monroe Institute for the work of Dr. Robert Monroe, who pioneered the theory.
The brain is balanced through sound with the use of two different frequencies. For example, if a frequency of 100 Hz and another of 108 Hz are played in at the same time, a third frequency is created. The third frequency would be 8 Hz. 8 Hz is within the Theta / Alpha brain wave range which is linked to relaxation, light meditative states, and creativity.
