When it comes to psychedelic journeys, the environment can truly make all the difference. The importance of set and setting has been touted by psychedelic scholars, experts, and enthusiasts throughout history. This is especially true of what people hear during their trips.

Early studies on entheogens and their potential benefits kept participants in extremely sterile lab conditions, considered by many to be the scientists’ and volunteers’ determinants. By 1959, researchers in Saskatchewan looking into LSD as a treatment for alcoholism realized subjects were profoundly impacted by their surroundings, opting to add relaxing music (typically classical) to the dosing experience.

Famed psychedelic researcher Dr. Timothy Leary introduced the concept of set and setting to a wider audience in his 1964 book The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Popular music was heavily influenced by the psychedelic counterculture, with Pink Floyd, the Doors, and even the Beatles offering up LSD-inspired tunes to the masses.

What does modern science say about sound and psychedelics?

Fast-forward to the 21st century. A new psychedelic renaissance inspired more in-depth research on set and setting than ever before, with particular interest paid to auditory stimuli.

A 2018 study conducted at Imperial College in London examined the role of music in psychedelic therapy. Researchers found participants had a more emotional response to the playlists presented and credited them with offering a more profound trip. But does the type of music being played make a difference?

This concept was tested in 2020 when scientists at Johns Hopkins explored combining psychedelic therapy with both classical (the old favorite for journeys) and recordings with overtone signatures, which feature droning sounds made by instruments such as Tibetan singing bowls, chimes, or didgeridoos. The study revealed that overtone tracks offered a more mystical experience in addition to helping the therapy itself have a more long-term impact (participants were enrolled in the study to help quit smoking).

Psychedelic sound therapy tools rising in popularity

As interest in psychedelics continues to grow, so too does the number of auditory aides meant to complement and enhance a person’s trip. Sound baths have become increasingly commonplace, oftentimes able to alter one’s perception without the need for entheogens at all. Numiunus Wellness recently launched their Music as Medicine event series, featuring entrancing meditative music alongside stunning visuals.

Several psychedelic-centric apps have hit the scene, providing the perfect soundscapes and guided meditations to transcend time and space, particularly during therapeutic sessions. Some of the most popular include Wavepaths, Trip, and Polyfauna.

A wide array of products are also available to help people augment their psychedelic journeys. The Kasina DeepVision bundle allows users to tap into both sounds and visuals, allowing for focus, relaxation, and deep introspection. The NeoRhythm headband utilizes pulsed electromagnetic field therapy to stimulate and sync the brain to create the perfect state of mind for meditation and psychedelic journeys.

inHarmony Meditation Cushion

The inHarmony meditation cushion provides an immersive 360-degree listening experience that can aid in the meditative process by quieting the outside world, letting people truly escape and make the most of their sound therapy session. Their corresponding app has over 100 music meditations, perfect for any type of trip. The company harnesses the incredible powers of vibroacoustic therapy, which uses low wave sound vibrations to promote healing. They have amassed a wide array of promising research, partnering with several leading authorities in the space, and are currently conducting their own studies with results coming soon.

In psychedelic journeys, sounds make the difference

The right set and setting are crucial in the psychedelic experience, drastically impacting the trajectory of an individual trip. This is especially true of what a person hears during their journey, as the right frequencies could determine both the vibe and long-term outcome of the therapeutic session.

Psychedelic Spotlight wants to help you enhance your future psychedelic journeys. We’re giving away one of inHarmony’s awesome meditation cushions, a $699 value! Sign up here for a chance to win!

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For as long as she can remember, Jessica Trimberger has lived with anxiety. “I find it hard to be motivated and am generally jittery,” she says.

Trimberger, who owns a company that makes small-batch beauty products, also has trigeminal neuralgia — a facial nerve disorder often called the “suicide disease” due to its painful and hard to control flare-ups.

“Anxiety and stress are some of my largest triggers,” she says, adding that the medications she’s tried have only left her groggy and feeling “out of it.”

But nine months ago, Trimberger found something that did help her feel better: a soundwave phenomenon known as binaural beats — subtle, surreal beats that are sometimes cocooned in relaxing music and seem to pulsate deep inside the brain.

When Trimberger first learned about binaural beats, she says she began searching and found a free recording online. Thinking “it couldn’t hurt,” she listened and found the experience was better than she expected.

After just 10 minutes, she became relaxed enough to better tolerate her pain.

Encouraged, she listened again, night after night. A month of binaural beats later, Trimberger says she noticed something miraculous. “I was happier, better rested, and not in pain,” she says. “[Binaural beats] are one of the best things to happen to me.”

The illusion of binaural beats

If you’ve ever done an online search for “stress relief” or “anxiety cure,” chances are you’ve already heard of binaural beats. These otherworldly beats are big on YouTube, promising to cure everything from insomnia to fear, while improving poor memory and an anemic happiness level.

While it may be easy to dismiss binaural beats as the next wellness gimmick currently enjoying its 15 minutes of fame, there’s some science behind these sounds… which aren’t actually sounds at all.

Experts credit a Prussian meteorologist named Heinrich Wilhelm Dove for discovering binaural beats way back in 1839. Also called “brain entrainment,” they’ve largely been considered an oddity more than a useful medical treatment.

“Binaural” means “relating to both ears.”

When you play a tone with a slightly different frequency into your left and right ear — say, 200 hertz (Hz) in one and 210 Hz in the other — they travel separately to your inferior colliculus, the part of your brain that gathers auditory input. There, the tones “squelch” together into a so-called “beat” at a perceived new frequency. (In this case, it would be 10 Hz.)

Although it sounds hard to believe, essentially, “you’re hearing something that’s not really there,” explains Troy A. Smith, PhD, an assistant professor of psychological science at the University of North Georgia in Gainesville, Georgia, who has studied binaural beats.

No one is arguing whether or not they exist, by the way. “The question is,” says Smith, “do they influence cognitive processes?”

In other words, what the heck do they do to your brain?

Some people believe that once binaural beats introduce a new frequency to your brain, your brain waves feel compelled to sync to it, effectively launching you into a different “brain state.”

Your brain has five different types of waves. Generally speaking, low-frequency waves are linked to “delta” and “thetaTrusted Source” states which can boost relaxation and improve sleep. Higher frequencies reportedly boostTrusted Source your brain waves into a “gammaTrusted Source” state which may make you more alert, focused, or better able to recall memories.

Mid-range frequencies have been linked to attention. Your brain moves into an “alpha” state when your focus turns inward (as in meditation) and a “beta” state when your attention is tuned to the world around you.

“There’s lots of evidence that brain waves correlate with these stages,” says Smith, and makers of binaural beats believe they can help people navigate between them all.

Since opening their online store in 2011, Binaural Beats Meditation has served “hundreds of thousands” of customers, according to James Matthews, the site’s customer happiness manager. “We continue to see an increase in interest… from individuals, but increasingly so from therapists using the music to help clients, health and wellness organizations, and businesses around the world.”

What are the most common reasons their customers are motivated to try binaural beats? “Anxiety, stress, and sleep,” Matthews says. “We also have many people using our music for pain relief, either as an alternative or complementary addition to prescription medication — depending on the severity of their condition.”

The concept of binaural beats isn’t that different from music.

“Humans have enjoyed and benefited from music for thousands of years,” says Matthews. “The work we’re doing seeks to continue this tradition and help people find increased happiness and well-being through the power of sound.”

Some studies — albeit small ones — show that binaural beats can have a positive effect.

For instance, a Montreal studyTrusted Source of 15 “mildly anxious” volunteers found a significant reduction in their anxiety when they listened to binaural beats at least 5 times each week for a month.

During a European studyTrusted Source, 15 young elite soccer players were asked to listen to binaural beats during their sleep for 8 weeks. They swear they slept better.

And when researchers in Richmond, Virginia, requested 36 adults with chronic pain to listen to two recordings of binaural beats for 20 minutes each day for 2 weeks, 77 percentTrusted Source felt their pain lessened.

There’s even some evidence that binaural beats can have more than mental health effects. Some data indicates they may even be effective at managing tinnitus (ringing in your ears).

Still, not everyone is convinced they’re a panacea.

“I have taken a lot of physics classes and still would not say this is real or makes sense,” says Dr. Clifford Segil, a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

The beat goes on?

Segil says binaural beats are being marketed as a “modern biofeedback mechanism.” And while he feels no harm can come from listening to them — so long as people don’t crank the volume for long periods of time and damage their hearing — he’s quick to point out: “The benefits are less clear.”

“Binaural beats may be good for meditation and relaxing, but that is probably all they are good for,” Segil says. “It’s challenging to say listening to these tones is going to cause a person’s brain waves, as measured on an EEG (electroencephalogram), to synchronize with the tone’s frequencies.”

The brain pathways for sound tracks through the brain stem, then into the thalamus, and then into the auditory cortex. Segil says he’s unaware of any legitimate research that notes binaural beats stimulate this pathway any more than white noise or calming music. (Both of which have been extensively studied.)

“Listening to calming music in our busy lives probably does reduce stress and reduce anxiety, but it’s challenging to say that these tones can increase focus, concentration, or confidence,” he adds. “I would think that listening to ‘elevator music,’ classical music, and music like Enya are equally likely to result in these benefits.”

Last year, Smith and one of his students, Lynn Cameron, studied the effects of binaural beats on long-term memory. The first experiment didn’t show that listening to binaural beats had any measurable effect. Neither did the second. Or the third.

But during that final experiment, which monitored participants with EEGs, they did notice something interesting.

When participants listened to binaural beats, their neuroactivity changed. “Binaural beats did seem to change the way participants’ brains processed information during the study, but it didn’t necessarily make it better,” Smith says.

In other words, binaural beats do something to the brain, but exactly what isn’t yet clear.

If someone tries binaural beats and feels it meets their expectations — whatever they may be, “it may be that they’re cued into the part of the change that worked for them,” says Smith, “but we have no idea what works for some people and not others.”

Should you march to this new beat?

“If you’re not paying for it, it can’t hurt,” says Smith.

Segil agrees. “I think taking time to relax during our busy lives and carve out time to meditate and listen to music is beneficial,” he says. “[Binaural beats] are probably reasonable to use while meditating or doing yoga, but I would not expect them to make you ace a test.”

Nevertheless, for people like Jessica Trimberger who say listening to these sounds are having a positive effect on their well-being, it’s an outcome that’s, well… hard to beat.

Trimberger says she now faithfully listens to binaural beats for roughly 20 minutes each day. Since adding them to her daily routine, she claims she’s been able to stop taking medication for her trigeminal neuralgia. She says the flare-ups she used to endure roughly once a month have also disappeared.

“Binaural beats have changed my life in a way I cannot even explain,” she says. “I sleep better every night. I am in less pain. I feel less stress and anxiety. It’s made almost all aspects of my life better.”

Written by Stephanie Booth — Updated on May 14, 2019

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/your-brain-on-binaural-beats#Should-you-march-to-this-new-beat?

The post This Is Your Brain on Binaural Beats appeared first on FRACTAL FiLL.

Sound healing therapy uses aspects of music to improve physical and emotional health and well-being. The person being treated partakes in the experience with a trained practitioner. Music therapy may involve:

• listening to music
• singing along to music
• moving to the beat of the music
• meditating
• playing an instrument

Healing with sound is believed to date back to ancient Greece, when music was used in an attempt to cure mental disorders. Throughout history, music has been used to boost morale in military troops, help people work faster and more productively, and even ward off evil spirits by chanting.

More recently, research has linked music to a number of health benefits, from boosting immune function and lowering stress levels to improving the health of premature babies.

Types of sound or music therapy

There are a few different types of sound therapy, each with different benefits, though not all have been supported through research.

Guided meditation

Guided meditation is a form of sound healing in which you meditate to voiced instruction, either in a session or class, or using a video or app. Meditation can involve chanting or repeating mantras or prayers.

ResearchTrusted Source has found that meditation offers a number of health benefits, including:

• stress reduction
• decreased anxiety and depression
• improved memory
• reduced blood pressure
• pain reduction
• lower cholesterol
• decreased risk of heart disease and stroke

Neurologic music therapy

Music therapy can reduce stress and promote relaxation. It’s been shown to be more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety levels before surgery. A study published in 2017 found that a 30-minute music therapy session combined with traditional care after spinal surgery reduced pain.

Music therapy is administered by a credentialed provider who assesses the individual’s needs. Treatment involves creating, listening, singing, or moving to music. It’s used for physical rehab, pain management, and brain injuriesTrusted Source.

Bonny Method

Named after Helen L. Bonny, PhD, the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) classical music and imagery to help explore personal growth, consciousness, and transformation.

A 2017 study showed promising evidence that a series of GIM sessions could improve psychological and physiological health in adults with medical and mental health needs.

Nordoff-Robbins

This sound healing method is delivered by skilled musicians who complete the Nordoff-Robbins 2-year master’s program. They use music familiar to those being treated, create new music together, or work toward a performance.

The Nordoff-Robbins approach is used to treat children with developmental delays (as well as their parents), mental health issues, learning difficulties, autism spectrum disorder, dementia, and other conditions.

Tuning fork therapy

Tuning fork therapy uses calibrated metal tuning forks to apply specific vibrations to different parts of the body. This can help release tension and energy, and promote emotional balance. It supposedly works similarly to acupuncture, using sound frequencies for point stimulation instead of needles.

There is some research suggesting that tuning fork therapy may help relieve muscle and bone pain.

Brainwave entrainment

Also known as binaural beats, this method stimulates the brain into a specific state using pulsing sound to encourage your brain waves to align to the frequency of the beat. It’s supposed to help induce enhanced focus, entranced state, relaxation, and sleep. Though more research is needed, there’s some evidence rested Source that audible brainwave entrainment reduces anxiety, pain, and symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, as well as improves behavioral problems in children.

What music therapy treats

Music therapy is used to treat symptoms of a number of conditions, including:

• anxiety disorders
• depression
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• dementia
• autism spectrum disorder and learning difficulties
• behavioral and psychiatric disorders
• cancer

Some of the supposed benefits of music therapy include:

• lowers stress
• decreases mood swings
• lowers blood pressure
• lowers cholesterol levels
• teaches pain management
• lowers risk for coronary artery disease and stroke
• improves sleep

How it works

Music therapy uses different aspects of sound to improve your emotional and physical well-being. How it works depends on the method being used. Most music therapy sessions are experienced one-on-one with a specially trained practitioner.

A session may involve sitting or lying down while listening to music or sounds from a speaker or instruments or having vibrations applied using a special tool, such as a tuning fork. Depending on the method, you may be encouraged to participate by singing, moving, or even using a musical instrument, or you may need to remain still and quiet to let the sounds take effect

Healing instruments

Along with voice, the following are some of the different instruments used in music therapy:

• singing bowls
• tuning forks
• pan flute
• harp
• drums

Some methods use a variety of instruments in one session, which can include a guitar, piano, or other instrument.

The takeaway

Though evidence may be limited on some methods, music therapy has been found to be effective for stress reduction and relaxation and has been shown to offer many health benefits.

There is little risk to listening to music. Find the sounds that work for you.

Last medically reviewed on January 27, 2020

https://www.healthline.com/health/sound-healing

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New research shows that even sad music can lift your mood, while other studies suggest music can boost happiness and reduce anxiety.

From the drumbeats of our ancient ancestors to today’s unlimited streaming services, music is an integral part of the human experience.

Researchers have pondered the possible therapeutic and mood boosting benefits of music for centuries.

Even sad music brings most listeners pleasure and comfort, according to recent research from Durham University in the United Kingdom and the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, published in PLOS ONETrusted Source.

Conversely, the study found that for some people, sad music can cause negative feelings of profound grief.

The research involved three surveys of more than 2,400 people in the United Kingdom and Finland, focusing on the emotions and memorable experiences associated with listening to sad songs.

The majority of experiences reported by participants were positive.

“The results help us to pinpoint the ways people regulate their mood with the help of music, as well as how music rehabilitation and music therapy might tap into these processes of comfort, relief, and enjoyment,” said lead author, Tuomas Eerola, Ph.D., a professor of music cognition at Durham University, in a press release.

He also said the study may help find reasons for both listening to and avoiding sad music.

An earlier study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, found that people tend to prefer sad music when they are experiencing a deep interpersonal loss, like the end of a relationship.

The authors of that study suggested that sad music provides a substitute for the lost relationship. They compared it to the preference most people have for an empathic friend — someone who truly understands what you’re going through.

Other research has focused on the joy upbeat music can bring.

A 2013 study in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that people who listened to upbeat music could improve their moods and boost their happiness in just two weeks.

In the study, participants were instructed to try to improve their mood, but they only succeeded when they listened to the upbeat music of Copland as opposed to the sadder tunes of Stravinsky.

And a happier mood brings benefits beyond feeling good. In a press release, lead study author, Yuna Ferguson, noted that happiness has been linked to better physical health, higher income, and greater relationship satisfaction.

Read more: The music you choose may say something about your mental health »

Music as therapy

This music research aligns with the larger arena of music therapy.

The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) reports that music therapy programs can be designed to achieve goals such as managing stress, enhancing memory, and alleviating pain.

It might seem surprising that music can help people cope with physical pain, but research has shown a clear link.

A 2015 review in The LancetTrusted Sourcefound that people who listened to music before, during, or after surgery experienced less pain and anxiety, compared to patients who did not listen to music.

The music listeners didn’t even need as much pain medication.

To conduct the study, researchers looked at data from 73 different trials, involving more than 7,000 patients.

The people who experienced a slightly greater, but nonsignificant, reduction in pain, and needed the least pain medication, were the ones who got to pick their own music.

“Music is a non-invasive, safe, cheap intervention that should be available to everyone undergoing surgery,” lead study author Catherine Meads, Ph.D., of Brunel University in the United Kingdom, recommended in a press release.

When it comes to treating chronic conditions, music therapy can also play a powerful role.

A recent review in the World Journal of PsychiatryTrusted Source found that music therapy can be an effective treatment for mood disorders related to neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, dementia, stroke, and multiple sclerosis.

After reviewing 25 trials, the researchers concluded that music is a valid therapy to potentially reduce depression and anxiety, as well as to improve mood, self-esteem, and quality of life.

They also noted that no negative side effects were reported in any of the trials, making music a low-risk treatment.

Barry Goldstein, a recording artist who has studied the vibrational effects of music for more than 25 years, says music has a profound impact on the brain.

In a column for Conscious Lifestyle magazine, Goldstein wrote that music can actually enhance brain functions.

He said music can evoke emotion, help regain memories, stimulate new neural connections, and active attention.

Read more: Music and the brain »

Boosting moods

While listening to music may bring greater health benefits, creating it can be an effective therapy, too.

A unique orchestra for people with dementia helped improve their mood and boost their self-confidence, according to researchers at the Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) in Dorset, U.K.

The orchestra is one of several BUDI research projects that aims to demonstrate how people with dementia can still learn new skills and have fun.

Eight people with dementia and seven caregivers participated in the project, along with students and professional musicians.

“Music touches everyone in some way, either by listening or playing,” said Anthea Innes, Ph.D., head of BUDI, in a press release.

She said that the orchestra has been a life-enhancing project for everyone involved, and that the project challenges the negative public perceptions of people diagnosed with dementia.

“Working together to produce a collaborative output is a powerful way to bring out the best in people — not just in terms of their musical skills, but their communication skills, friendships, care, and support for one another,” she added.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on May 17, 2013. It was updated by Jenna Flannigan on August 3, 2016, and again by David Mills on April 13, 2017.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-listening-to-music-lifts-or-reinforces-mood-051713#Boosting-moods

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