Audio Visual entrainment has been taking over most other forms of mental health therapies for the past decade. It is a non-invasive, drug-free method of treatment that uses light and sound to stimulate changes in brain activity. This type of therapy has been shown to be effective in treating a variety of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, insomnia, chronic pain, and ADD/ADHD.
AVE improves brain health by triggering the right production of brain waves and chemicals through audio/visual impulses. Since brain waves are highly altered in mental disorders, their generation gives an extremely fool-proof treatment without worrying about side effects.
But how does AVE prove meditation is better than medication for an altered brain? And how does it work? Read on to understand how this medically-backed method can change your life for the better.
When you hear the word meditation, what comes to mind? For most people, it brings up images of sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, and try not to think of anything. And while that is one form of meditation, it is not the only form. In fact, there are many different types of meditation, and each has its own benefits.
What is AVE?
As the name suggests, Audio Visual Entrainment, also known as AVE, is a type of meditation that uses light and sound to guide your brainwaves into a specific frequency. This is done by wearing headphones or goggles that emit pulsating lights and tones at different frequencies. The frequency of the light and sound waves guides your brainwaves into the desired state.
In short, It’s a type of cognitive stimulation therapy where sound and light impulses are used to initiate brainwave activity. But what are brainwaves?
What are brainwaves?
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that activate the neurons to generate electrical signals having a particular message. These messages are transferred from neuron to neuron in the form of waves having specific frequencies and amplitude. Our bodies interpret these sensory messages and act as the form of a response.
The brain develops six types of brainwaves, each representing an individual state of mind:
- Infra-low (<0.5 Hz)
- Delta waves (.5 To 3 Hz) (generates in most profound mediation and dreamless sleep)
- Theta waves (3 to 8 Hz) (generated during dreams)
- Alpha (8 to 12 Hz) (Ensure calmness, alterntness, and meditative state)
- Beta (12 to 38 Hz) (Ensure consciousness/wakefulness)
- Gamma (38 to 48 Hz) (Generates an extreme level of consciousness).
And all these waves are produced by the thalamus during arousal. So, to create those waves, you have to excite the thalamus. And how do you do that? You guessed it- with light and sound!
Here is how AVE works:
- The AVE device produces beats of sounds and light pulses at varied frequencies and
- Depending on the frequency and intensity, the brain (thalamus) mirrors this information and creates/manages brain waves. These brain frequencies change according to the changes in the auditory-visual
- These varied shifts in brain wave patterns fix different levels of mood, memory, attention, relaxation, and other cognitive
- This brain wave activity can be visually measured using electroencephalography (EEG).
How does Brainwave Entrainment Benefit Mental Disorders?
Here’s a rule of thumb; your mental health is directly related to your brainwave activity. Over-arousal of some brain waves occurs in disorders like altered sleep patterns, anxiety, nightmares, anger, etc. And under arousal leads to insomnia, attention deficit disorders, etc. In contrast, a combo of under or over-arousal is seen in ADHD, depression, and anxiety patients.
By applying external stimuli in the form of varying audio-visual waves, the disturbed brain waves synchronize correctly with the ones applied via the AVE devices, which improves wellbeing. This is called Brainwave entrainment.
For instance, since alpha waves are associated with a relaxed state, increasing them in the brain reduces depression and anxiety.
Other than improving altered EEG patterns, Audio-visual entrainment does the following things to boost/enhance brain activity:
1. Triggers Dissociative State
Dissociation means getting carried into a meditative state, free from logical thinking, and only limited to a relaxed, carefree state of mind. So, after around 8 minutes of your Audio-visual entrainment program, you will experience a dissociative state. And this dissociation is significant for behavior disorders, especially those suffering from trauma.
2. Stabilizes Limbic system
It is where the thalamus is located, and the limbic system is responsible for controlling behavioral and emotional responses. So, the AVE therapy calms your body, producing rhythmic breaths, reducing muscle tension, and gushing blood flow in to make them warmer.
3. Produces Beneficial neurotransmitters
Since brain waves stimulate the production of neurotransmitters, AV brain entrainment therapy is ideal for boosting wellbeing. For instance, the production of serotonin and dopamine improves depression.
4. Increases Cerebral Blood Flow
Low cerebral blood flow (CBF) is linked with age, Alzheimer’s, etc., which is increased when AVE improves sleep patterns. Since CBF increases up to 25% during sleep, here, AVE acts as an excellent medium for improving cognitive conditions.
The Specification of AVE Devices
Generally, headphones and LED goggles are used for perceiving visual and auditory stimulation. For audio entrainment, mostly biaural beats are used, having mismatching frequencies. The brain receives and works on distinguishing the mismatch between the frequencies. For the visual, light is flashed or either penetrated through the eyelids in a pulsating manner to activate visual attention.
Wrap Up
From the above information, it is clear that AVE is an excellent non-invasive method for improving mental disorders by providing brainwave entrainment. In fact, it also may prove effective for any seasonal affective disorder.
Also, AVE has many benefits for the brain apart from just treating mental disorders. If you are looking for a less toxic and cost-effective therapy for your mental well-being, it is best to sign up for an audio-visual entrainment program. Not only will it help you surpass your mental health problems, but it will also boost physical performance and athletic activity in the long run.
