Our chart shows you the
waveform, speed, mind state, and time of day most associated
with each wave type.
The brain bustles with electrical activity during
every moment of our lives.
Billions of neurons constantly firing on and off form waves that
we call brainwaves.
These waves can be found bustling about at different speeds during
any given time.
But there will always be a predominant speed where most of these
waves synchronize.
The speed of a brainwave is called a frequency - this frequency
is measured in Hertz.
Scientists who first measured these waves found that they were
connected to mind states.
Brainwaves have been divided into four predominant speed ranges,
or types.
Brainwave types are connected to different mind states, or states
of consciousness.
Each brainwave type contains smaller bands relating to specific
functions of body and mind.
Some complex mental states relate to specific
frequencies that repeat in patterns.
There are also mind/body processes connected to single frequencies
Learn more about the mind/wave type connection in our 'Beneficial
Uses'
section.
Our Light & Sound Mind Machines can change your mind state
by affecting your brainwaves.
If you're new to this technology, it may sound 'fantastic'
or magical - but the changes they make to brainwaves are
easy measure. These changes result from a universal and easy
to understand scientific principle called entrainment.
The entrainment
principle is simply the tendency for two oscillating
bodies to lock into phase. Entrainment happens when the vibrations
from two or more rhythm cycles stimulate each other into
a synchronization - they harmonize.
This is called brainwave entrainment or the 'frequency following
response' when it is used to change brainwaves.
The brain is constantly being stimulated, and our neurons
ceaselessly fire off and on for as long as we live. This firing
is the brain responding to stimulation. Neurons can
sometimes even fire in rhythms that respond to the beat
of music being listened to.
If the brain has been responding to the continous stimulation
of a frequency for around 5-6 minutes, it begins
to generate the same rhythm on its own.
When the lights and sound from our machines pulse at the speed
of normal brainwaves when a session begins, they quickly synchronize.
Your brainwaves will then follow as the light and sound stimulation
shifts into the frequencies of another mind state. This is called
the frequency following effect, or entrainment. The scientific
term when lights are used for this is usually 'Photic Driving'.
Each pulse of the stimulation being used must evoke enough of
a response from the brain in order for entrainment
to be effective. This response by the brain from sensory stimulation
is called cortical evoked response. This can happen from any
type of sensory stimulation, but the most effective combination
is using light and sound. The most effective ways for using
light and sound to do this are used by our light and sound machines.
Sound has a very small effect on brainwaves when used alone, and shifting
a mindstate effectively requires more than stimulation from sound at a
sustained frequency.
There are other products and methods on the market such as NLP and various software
packages that use sound for entrainment - pulses of sound, music encoded with
pulses of sound, different types of binaural beats, and combinations of these.
But their own studies show that the effect of any sound based entrainment is
much less when compared to light - and very minimal when compared to entrainment
methods using synchronized light and sound.
Our machines use complex pulse patterns of light and sound
that years of research show are best for the brainwave frequency
following effect. The Proteus has two independently driven
light channels - each one capable of stimulating at a seperate
frequency, color and brightness. It includes sessions featuring
new brainwave entrainment techniques that use these in combination
with binaural and dual binaural beats.
Binaural Beats
A binaural beat is generated from two tones.
Each tone is of a slightly different
pitch.
One tone is presented to the left ear, and the other to the right.
The two tones combine into a single tone sensed by your brain.
This single tone pulse is the stimulation when entraining with
binaural beats.
Binaural beats are probably the most well-known
stimulus used for entrainment. They have been shown to work,
but some of the other audio entrainment techniques are more effective.
Our machines produce
binaural beats, dual binaural beats and other audio
entrainment methods.
Biofeedback can help you recognize mind/body responses that you didn't
know you had, and teach you how to change the ones you know about but
can't control.
Biofeedback works by letting you see, hear, or feel something that the
sensors from a device have monitored from your body or mind.
What's monitored can be experienced through anything from an interactive
video game, to a line chart. There are devices with sensors to monitor
anything from the muscle tension of your left index finger, to the
brainwaves of a specific location in your brain.
Biofeedback is a popular form of complementary and alternative medicine,
but is also very beneficial for people who aren't looking to cure a
specific disease or condition. It can help you improve your health and
sense of well-being.
Once you learn to recognize and control these responses with biofeedback,
you can begin to form new positive habits that continue throughout your
life.
One of the best uses of biofeedback is the reduction of stress.
Our light and sound biofeeback package is a very effective way to apply
biofeedback for this.
