Entrainment

Entrainment is defined as the tendency for two oscillating bodies to lock into phase so that they vibrate in harmony. It is also defined as a synchronization of two or more rhythmic cycles. The principle of entrainment is universal, appearing in chemistry, pharmacology, biology, medicine, psychology, sociology, astronomy, architecture and more. Christian Huygens, a notable physicist, coined the term entrainment after he noticed, in 1666, that two pendulum clocks had moved into the same swinging rhythm, subsequent experiments duplicated this process.

Entrainment is a function of resonance, or the frequency an object wants to vibrate. We all function to a certain rhythm. Our heart beat, respiration and brain waves are entrained to each other. If you slow down your breathing, your heart rate will drop and your brain wave pattern will alter. The opposite effect is to calm the mind and the heart rate and respiration will drop. Standing meditation and Tai Chi can help in this respect.

With entrainment you can change the natural oscilating pattern of one object and replace it with the oscilating pattern of another.

It is easy for two different people to become entrained. Females who work in the same office for any long period of time can start to share their menstrual cycle. A similar example may be the entrainment between a parent and their child.


You may have noticed effects of entrainment yourself. If you have spent any time with a person mentally weaker than you, your stronger brainwave will actually slow down, while their brain wave will speed up. The outcome is you will get entrained down to their level. This is why you sometimes go home at the end of the day mentally tired.

Electrical equipment also resonates a certain frequency, so time spent in an office for example can leave you entrained and feeling weak.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT SLEEP PATTERNS

Chances are during the day (and night) you will be exposed to low frequency electromagnetic energies. Power lines, electrical circuits in your walls, ceilings and floors and electrical appliances such as electric blankets and TV’s all emit such energies. This electromagnetic pollution can disrupt natural sleep / wake cycles.


Brainwave entrainment refers to the brain's electrical responce to sensory stimulation, such as light. Entrainment is also linked to even greater cycles such as lunar cycles. We are nearly all entrained to sleep when it is dark and wake when it is light for example.

When the brain receives a sensory signal it emits an electrical charge, this charge runs into and through the brain to become what we see and hear.


When the brain receives a rhythmic stimulus it is reproduced in the brain as an electrical impulse. If this stimulus is fast enough it can resemble the natural rhythm of the brain, called a brainwave. Brainwaves are related to mental state. You could not normally go to sleep for example listening to AC/DC, but could listening to the calming sound of the sea.

WHAT TO DO
 
Try unplugging all electrical items in your bedroom, including clocks, TV’s and lights. If your sleep quality improves, rearrange your bedroom so that all electrical items are as far away from your bed as possible. Also do not use an electric blanket.


OTHER FORMS OF ENTRAINMENT


Doctors and psychologists have discovered that you can become entrained or synchronized to a dysfunctional schedule in as little as 7-21 days. This means that if you stay up to midnight for one to three weeks in a row, your internal body clock will become entrained to wait until midnight to start reducing cortisol output and increasing melatonin output (explained in ourprevious blog on Circadian Rhythm). If your body gets used to going to bed late and you then decide to get to bed earlier one night, you’ll probably have a hard time falling asleep. Now your faced with the task of entraining your system to release your sleepy-time chemicals early enough so that you can get to sleep on time for a full cycle of physical and mental repair. In addition, if you work in an environment with other people, your heartbeat will show up in the brain waves of any weaker people in the group. In other words, you get entrained down to their level. This is one of the reasons at the end of the day you go home mentally tired.

The different types of brainwaves are as follows: -


• Gamma (100 - 38) HZ (Hertz=cycles per second)


• Beta (38 - 15) HZ


• Alpha (14 - 8) HZ


• Theta (7 - 4) HZ


• Delta (3 - 0.5) HZ.


Gamma Brainwaves


Not much is know (in comparison to other brainwaves) about Gamma waves. They have been seen in states of both physical and mental peak performance, periods of high concentration and schizophrenia.


Beta Brainwaves


Normal waking consciousness is when beta brainwavwes would be observed.


Anctious, busy or active thinking produces these brain wave patterns.


 Alpha Brainwaves


Alpha brainwaves are seen when we are relaxed, daydreaming or visulaizing.


Sensing is the word here. Hearing, tasting and smell can stimulate alpha waves.


Theta Brainwaves


Subconscious, dreaming (REM Sleep), hypnosis and meditation produces Theta waves. It is connected with intuition and creativity.

Delta Brainwaves


These are the lowest frequency waves and represent unconsciousness or dreamless deep sleep.


Binaural Beats


We now know that our brain operates at certain frequencies at certain times of the day, depending on our mood, our surroundings, our company, stimulation to light and so on. It is possible to alter the state of mind by means such as meditation, but an ever more popular method is binaural beats.


We all know that music can affect our mood. Rock concerts leave you buzzing, whereas a folk concert might leave you more mellow.


It is now possible to obtain very low frequencies from a fairly high sound, so if the frequencies of two sound sources are applied seperately, one to each ear, a binaural beat frequency is created. What is heard is not the two seperate sound (frequencies), but a frequency difference between the two sounds. It is like playing the number 1 in one ear and number 3 in the other and hearing number 2.


So by listening (through headphones) to certain frequencies it is possible to alter your brainwaves, whether that be higher frequencies to stimulate thought processes, or lower frequencies to help relaxation or sleep.


I use binaural beats at work. If I feel mentally drained I use a certain frequency for 10 minutes to perk myself up. If a feel a headache coming on I can usually stop it by using another frequency.


Binaural beats are not just a buzzing in your ear. There are some good ones that can be downloaded (some for free) on I-Tunes. They are mixed in with calming sounds of the ocean, bird song, thunder and rain and can nearly all be customised to suit you.



Certainly worth a look.

 I now need a rest as I have been typing for ages and have become entrained.

Post by Simon Sheridan