brain wave

Which brainwave?

Stefanos Karagos | January 17, 2008

Download a ...coffee replacement, really!

Stefanos Karagos | December 5, 2006

Which brainwave?

After months and after the huge success of my Coffee Replacement [more than 80.000 downloads], it is time to create the next brainwave. And this post is an invitation to everyone to participate in this poll, giving me your preferences for the brainwave you want to see here!
Thank you in advance!

LATEST UPDATE:

New mirror added just for the WAV file, here.
Stay tuned!

First, let's make an introduction, so everybody knows the same information:

Our brain is made up of billions of brain cells called neurons, which use electricity to communicate with each other.
The combination of millions of neurons sending signals at once produces an enormous amount of electrical activity in the brain, which can be detected using sensitive medical equipment (such as an EEG), measuring electricity levels over areas of the scalp.
The combination of electrical activity of the brain is commonly called a BrainWave pattern, because of its cyclic, "wave-like" nature.

With the discovery of brainwaves came the discovery that electrical activity in the brain will change depending on what the person is doing.
For instance, the brainwaves of a sleeping person are vastly different than the brainwaves of someone wide awake.
Over the years, more sensitive equipment has brought us closer to figuring out exactly what brainwaves represent and with that, what they mean about a person's health and state of mind.

Brainwave Entrainment refers to the brain's electrical response to rhythmic sensory stimulation, such as pulses of sound or light.

When the brain is given a stimulus, through the ears, eyes or other senses, it emits an electrical charge in response, called a Cortical Evoked Response. These electrical responses travel throughout the brain to become what you "see and hear". This activity can be measured using sensitive electrodes attached to the scalp.

When the brain is presented with a rhythmic stimulus, such as a drum beat for example, the rhythm is reproduced in the brain in the form of these electrical impulses. If the rhythm becomes fast and consistent enough, it can start to resemble the natural internal rhythms of the brain, called brainwaves. When this happens, the brain responds by synchronizing its own electric cycles to the same rhythm.
This is commonly called the Frequency Following Response (or FFR):

FFR can be useful because brainwaves are very much related to mental state.
For example, a 4 Hz brainwave is associated with sleep, so a 4 Hz sound pattern would help reproduce the sleep state in your brain.
The same concept can be applied to nearly all mental states, including concentration, creativity and many others.
It can even act as a gateway to exotic or extraordinary experiences, such as deep meditation or "lucid dreaming" type states.

Brainwave Entrainment's usefulness is not limited to relaxation and enhancing academic performance. It can also be used for reducing headaches, insomnia, stress and even enhancing athletic performance.

You got it now?
It's easy enough even that we have to do with some scientific terminology :-)

I use brainwaves from time to time especially these heavy-busy days and I have to admit that the effects on myself is more than obvious.

I created and I'm posting here a 20 minutes duration brainwave file [in MP3 format] that I called "Coffee Replacement" because of its feature to keep you in an energizing state giving you a "caffeine" energetic boost.

Use this session when you wake up in the morning or when you need a boost of energy.

You do not have to close your eyes for this session, in fact it may be beneficial not too.

I listen this brainwave every morning I can't wake-up as fresh as i want :-)

Some tips to enjoy this brainwave listening:
1. It is important to listen to this using stereo headphones
2. Don't activate music-looping on your media player or your MP3 player.
3. Adjust the volume to a comfortable level

Are you ready to feel the caffeine in your ...ears?

More info

- About Brainwaves
- Brainwave Entrainment
- A Brief History
- NeuroProgrammer
- Brainwaves Generator

WARNING!
The following people should not use brain entrainment:
> People subject to any forms of seizures or epilepsy
> People using pacemakers
> People suffering from cardiac arrhythmia or other heart disorders
> People taking stimulants, psychoactive drugs, or tranquilizers