A Sound Can Calm the Nerves

By Rick McVicar   

  While long sustained sounds are being produced digitally for brain health recovery, the use of sound for gaining positive energy has ancient roots.  

  The new and the old are brought together in an album released January 31, 2022, “Thrilling Sounds for Meditation and Sleep,” available on Amazon. The music mixes mantras, Native American flutes and binaural beats. The names of the artists are not listed.  

   A mantra is a word or phrase that is repeated and hummed in long breaths for the words to seep into the subconscious, according to “How Can You Use a Mantra for Therapy?” by Jessica Wyllie, March 23, 2019. The article can be found on the Life Synergy website.  

   “A mantra can be seen as an instrument of the mind. They are powerful, sacred sounds or vibrations that can be used to enter a state of meditation,” Wyllie writes.   

  Mantras originated as spiritual practices in ancient times, as noted by Anna Julia Florek in “Mantras – Implications for Therapy as Music,” 2022, found on academia.edu.   

   The practices have been used by indigenous people across the globe. Mantras have been central in the religious life of Buddhists, Florek writes.  

  Meanwhile, binaural beats are sounds with two different frequencies going to the left and right ears, according to Stephanie Booth. A description of binaural beats can be found in “This is Your Brain on Binaural Beats,” May 14, 2019, on Healthline’s website.

  When the left and right ears hear two different frequencies, the brain mixes them into a whole new sound that does not exist in the environment. Binaural beats are being used in therapy to treat anxiety, stress and physical pain, Booth writes.   

  However, using binaural beats for therapy has received mixed reviews. While Booth could cite research studies touting the benefits, the writer found a neurologist, Clifford Segil, who remained skeptical.   

  Segil told Booth, “Binaural beats may be good for meditation and relaxation, but that is probably all they are good for.”   

  Booth’s article includes audio examples. One of them has a melody being played over extremely long sustained notes.   

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