Best Binaural Beats for Sleep

Many people around the world struggle to fall asleep and go through the same process each night. Over and over people search the web for the right kind of beat to fall asleep to that might actually help for once. Throughout this article we will discuss the different types of binaural beats that can help you sleep better than you ever have. Binaural beats are an illusion perceived by the brain that can put your brain into different brain waves.

Man sleeping

What is Sleep?

To start, you need to know what sleep really is and how you get your brain and body into that state. Your sleep is controlled by neurotransmitters that signal whether you are awake or asleep. These come in different groups of nerve cells, neurons, and inside the brain. The neurons in the brainstem produce neurotransmitters like serotonin that keeps the brain active when we are awake. There are other neurons located at the base of the brain that begin to signal as we start to fall asleep. Another chemical called adenosine builds up throughout the day in our blood which starts causing drowsiness. Once we are asleep, the adenosine in our blood slowly starts breaking down. 

There are 5 Types of Sleep. 

There are 5 different stages that our bodies go through as we are sleeping in the night. As you would expect, this starts in stage 1 and then works all the way until stage 5 which is REM sleep. 

Stage 1

Stage 1 of the sleep process is when you are in very light sleep falling in and out. In this stage, you will wake up often and your eyes are moving very slowly. If you ever feel like you are falling and then your muscles jerk and you wake up, that is stage one sleep. When in stage one you can also remember fragmented visual images when you are awakened. 

Stage 2

When you enter stage two you are still in a lighter sleep than you want to be in. In this stage, your eye movements will stop, body temperature slowly drops, and your heart rate starts slowing down. Your body is preparing itself for the nexts stages where you will be going into deep sleep. 

Stage 3

In the third stage, you are finally making the transition from light sleep to deep sleep. When in this stage you are going to have extremely slow brain waves that are called delta waves. As the delta waves start to appear, they are coming alongside smaller and faster waves.  

Stage 4

Stage 4 is also considered to be deep sleep by experts that study sleep patterns. In stage 4 there is no eye movement or muscle activity going on throughout the body. When you wake up during stage 4 you feel groggy and disoriented for a few moments. This is also the stage that children experience sleepwalking, or nightmares. Slow wave sleep or deep sleep is when you will be experiencing the most restorative sleep in the night. This is crucial for how you are going to feel the next day. As you get older, it becomes harder and harder to enter this stage of sleep during the night. 

REM Sleep

Finally, REM sleep is the final stage of the sleeping process. As you enter REM sleep you will go through different stages of REM sleep. During REM sleep this is when people have dreams, and your eyes are closed but they move back and forth super fast. As you continue sleeping your REM cycles will get longer and longer until you wake up

woman sleeps in mask

Binaural Beats are not Music 

A binaural beat is when there are two sounds that are playing close to each other in pitch. There is a difference between these two frequencies that is called an oscillation. Oscillations have been proven to entertain and synchronize our brains into delta, theta, alpha, or gamma. This will allow you to meditate and has been proven to improve states of consciousness. Having binaural beats will result in relaxation, better sleep, and many more benefits. 

Why Binaural Beats are Good for Your Health

Binaural beats are proven to reduce anxiety and increase focus when you are tuned in. Other benefits will be added like a lower level of stress which increases your relaxation rates. These beats are good for you in so many ways and will help your physical and mental state more than any other beats. If you are trying to get into a creative state binaural beers could also be for you. These beats are proven to promote creativity which will open up your brain. All in all your mood will increase and you will feel like a better person and have a more positive attitude when you are listening to binaural beats.

Side Effects of Binaural Beats

The side effect that has been seen the most when studying binaural beats is the increased feeling of depression. Other feelings like anxiety, anger, and confusinon have also been mentioned when studying binaural beats. Binaural beats are not a treatment for therapy and cannot stand in the place of it. You should talk with a doctor immediately if you start feeling signs of depression when using binaural beats. For the most part binaural beats do seem to increase people’s mood. This is good for people who are struggling with anxiety and depression and can improve your mood. There are many binaural beats available to the public. There are different binaural beats that can change if you like them or not. It depends on the person to decide if they like the binaural beats or not. While some people love them, other people are not able to focus when these beats are in their head.  

woman sleeps on a bus

Different Types of Brain Waves

There are five different types of brain waves that are each different from one another. These may all seem similar but each of them have unique differences that set them apart from the other. Be sure to listen to multiple beats and you will be able to tell the difference and decide which one is the best for you. 

Delta

Occurring at 1 to 4 hz, delta brain waves are the lowest frequency that binaural beats correlate with. The delta state is related to deep sleeping and meditation. This is also a good state to be in to find healing and pain relief for your body. Some people use the delta state as an anti aging technique and lastly this is where you find access to the unconscious mind. These are slow, loud brain waves that come from binaural beats. 

Theta

Once your brain enters into the theta waves stage this is when you can start experiencing dreaming. Other things may include Memory formation also happens in the theta state which is very interesting. These brain waves can also be associated with creativity, subconscious thinking, and meditation. When your brain is experiencing theta brainwaves this will be your deepest state of relaxation. Theta frequencies are listed at anywhere between 4 and 8 hz. 

Alpha

The alpha state of mind is when you are focused and productive. Alpha brain waves will help you maintain positive thinking and increase your learning ability. Apha beats come in around 8 to 14 hz. This is very important when studying or working to get the most out of your time. It is easy for your brain to engage in activities and in the environment because your brain is in a state of flow. When in alpha you are in a quiet resting state of the conscious brain. 

Beta

Beta brain waves are associated closely with problem solving and active thinking. This is thinking that takes effort, haigh anxiety,  and excitement. Each of these are related to the beta waves which come in from 12 to 38 hz. When you are in a high energy setting or need to be doing complex thinking the beta brain waves are perfect for you. 

Gamma

Gamma comes in at a higher frequency than beta and is the highest frequency of the other four coming in anywhere between 30 and 100 hz. Gamma brain waves will help increase cognitive enhancement while also allowing you to increase your attention to detail. Increasing your attention to detail will help you in memory recall. Gamma encourages a different way of thinking and is also a highly creative stage for your brain. Gamma is also the least understood of each of the five brain waves so research is still being done on gamma. 

The Best Can be Different for Each Person

As we have discussed there are benefits and side effects of each of the brain waves. Binaural beats create these frequencies which puts our brains into one of the prior states of being. If you have the chance you should listen to each of the different beats so that you can find out which binaural beat suits you the best. You might also find that you like one beat one day and then do not like it the next. That is because sometimes you might need to focus and then you use the focus beat and it does not work for you. 

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