Harnessing the power of sound for improving our lives.
Through sound, it is possible to change the rhythm of our brainwaves, heartbeat and respiration.
Nature, in all its glory, is often the interruption that we seek from everyday life. The soft rustle of leaves, the burble of a stream flowing through a forest, the crashing of waves against the shoreline; these occurrences that exemplify natural beauty often help us find a sense of relaxation — an effluence of inner peace. These sounds make us feel like we are one with nature; like we are in harmony with the world around us.
But, have you ever wondered why you feel that way or what about these aspects are so relaxing?
Honestly, it is because we resonate with their vibrations. As trippy as that sounds, it is a distinctively technical phenomenon that occurs in our brains wherein our brainwaves actually begin to change their frequency to match that of the external sounds. This phenomenon is called brainwave entrainment. This ‘entrainment’ enables a balance that calms our breathing and allows our endocrine system to release powerful healing hormones such as endorphins, serotonin and melatonin into the body. This is why we find nature’s sounds so relaxing. Such is the power of sound.
Brainwave entrainment happens when sounds directly influence our brainwave frequency. Our brains automatically resonate with the vibrations that come through our ears. That is why we feel relaxed at the beach but feel distressed and anxious in traffic and loud gatherings. Ancient cultures have known about brainwave entrainment and have been using it for thousands of years. Today, there’s an abundance of technology that makes use of brainwave entrainment, some of which you never even realized acted in this way, like sleep-inducing apps, audio beats and even strobe lights.
Khalil Gibran, a renowned writer, poet and artist, said:
“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”
We know that music and sound have a tremendous impact on us; a song or sounds can take us down memory lane and can instantly lift or dampen our mood. Our brainwaves match the vibration of the sound and that triggers a change in our internal state. Depending on the frequency, it can help us relax, concentrate or even improve our memory.
So, can we use this phenomenon to help children?
If we think about it, a child’s relationship with sound and rhythm would have begun in the womb; the sound of a mother’s heartbeat could perhaps be the first sound everyone hears. A foetus begins to hear at about 24 weeks of gestation. At this time, a foetus normally hears mostly low-frequency sounds like the mother’s heartbeat as well as the melody and rhythm of her voice. But babies can listen to music as well, and exposing a baby in the womb to music is helpful. Listening and experiencing music stimulates a foetus’ brain and assists with the growth of brain structures. In fact, studies have found that babies remember the music they listened to in the womb for 4 months after they are born.
When we teach children about sound and its effects, we need to teach them that sound is a source of energy that exists within the earth, and that we live in a vibrating universe. The earth, seas, plants, animals, and human beings all have vibrations. Music is the human output of these sounds. We have learnt to organize the sounds that exist within the earth and create music out of them. So, music is the essence of humanness. That is why it is so beautiful and powerful.
Furthermore, it is possible to change our vibrational state through self-generated sounds. So, what we can do is get our children to chant the word ‘Aum’. It is recognised as a powerful tool for healing and is known to exert influence or effect through sound vibrations that resonate with specific parts of the body. The chant is shown to be effective in the treatment of depression as well as epilepsy. It has scientifically measured benefits such as lowering high blood pressure, reducing adrenaline levels associated with stress and improving concentration. These benefits can prove vital in helping children cope with the toll of emotional and mental fatigue.
Entrainment involves the ability of rhythmic vibrations to change the vibrations of another object and enable the synchronization of rhythms. We all know that a human voice is capable of shattering glass. Every object, including glass, has a resonant frequency — the natural frequency at which it vibrates. To shatter a glass the human voice has to match the frequency or pitch of the glass. The excessive sound energy overamplifies the glass and causes it to break. But just as sound can be used to destroy, it can also be used to heal and transform.
When you hear a song, all 4 lobes of the brain react; memories, emotions, thoughts and movement are all impacted. When your brain processes the tone, pitch and volume of the music in the auditory cortex and sends the information to the amygdala, the brain releases dopamine, the chemical behind reward, pleasure and motivation. Through sound, it is possible to change the rhythms of our brainwaves, heartbeat and respiration. The change in the rhythm creates changes in our consciousness, allowing mystically altered states to be induced. Listening to music is powerful, and learning to play any musical instrument makes you use both sides of your brain. It strengthens brainpower, which includes spatial reasoning, literacy skills and memory.
Ultimately, it helps if children are aware of the effects of entrainment. So, to build awareness about brainwave entrainment, we can ask children to watch how sound and music is used in film and media to evoke emotions of sadness, curiosity, happiness, fear, suspense, etc. Children can watch the shows with sound first, then without it and then again with it. This way they will understand how much music and sound affects our emotional and internal state. How it intensifies anything we feel. You can also give your children paint and paper and ask them to express how different music makes them feels. They will understand that they express and create differently depending on their emotional state.
Once children learn to harness the power of sound, it can help them improve their internal states and create better life experiences.
