Entrainment vs. Entertainment

[Christopher Triplett]

My understanding is that entrainment needs 6 minutes minimum at a particular frequency to occur. Yet most of the Procyon programmes ramp up and down at much shorter intervals. My question is whether actual entrainment is taking place during these quick changes or if they are designed more for an "entertainment" factor.

Also, does anyone have a list of programmes that hold frequencies for at least 6 minutes and at which frequencies?

Or is my understanding of the 6 minute rule mistaken?

thanks!
chris

[Marisa]

My understanding is that entrainment needs 6 minutes minimum at a particular frequency to occur. Yet most of the Procyon programmes ramp up and down at much shorter intervals. My question is whether actual entrainment is taking place during these quick changes or if they are designed more for an "entertainment" factor.

Also, does anyone have a list of programmes that hold frequencies for at least 6 minutes and at which frequencies?

Or is my understanding of the 6 minute rule mistaken?

thanks!
chris

Hi Chris,

A couple of thoughts on this one.

If you expose your brain to the same frequency for a longer period of time (and that length varies according to the individual) you run the risk of habituation - which means, your brain may have followed the frequency to the desired state but then gets use to it and begins to ignore it.

The six minute rule is sort of right in that it can take the brain some time to switch states. It's inaccurate in that your brain can also switch states instantly - though usually that instant state has more to do with waking up (think about when something happens and you become suddenly alert).

The average song is 2 to 3 minutes (unless you ae Pink Floyd) and think about how your state of mind can change over the course of the song.

Now think about listening to the same note for 6 minutes. If your brain doesn't tune it out, you would probably end up annoyed by it.

Ideally, what you want to do is target a range of frequencies associated with the desired state - for example, Alpha (8-Hz). Since everyone's brain is slightly different, what works at 10 Hz for one, may work better at 9 Hz for another.

Then there is the issue with habituation that I mentioned above - how long do you stay on a particular frequency before your brain gets bored and tunes it out? It's not an easy equation to figure out without the use of an EEG.

Essentially what a session endeavors to do is to establish a rapport with your current state (which is usually Beta) and slowly ramp down into the desired state. If we manage to establish that "rapport", then the brain will follow the introduced frequencies to where they are leading it. The trick is to keep the brain interested so it will continue to follow - and that is why the programs have multiple segments and things (sounds, frequencies, pattern of lights etc) change quite regularly.

You'll find that most of the programs, while seemingly change - they tend to hang around the desired range through most of the session.

Sometimes, in a session, there will be a segment or two where a different frequency is introduced for a few moments. This does one of two things. One thing it does is create a more "natural" environment for the brain (and I'll explain this in a moment) and the other is to wake up the brain just a bit, which then leads to deeper relaxation.

Re: Natural Environment
All four ranges of frequencies are active in our brains all the time. One of those ranges will be dominant and the rest exist in the background. Depending on what you are doing, thinking or feeling - depends on which of those ranges will be dominant. It's not unusual for another range to coincide with the dominant range but this will occur in a more harmonious fashion in a normal person. For example, you may get some gamma (very high beta) mixed in bursts with normal Beta or SMR - whether that manifests as stress or inspiration depends on what is going on at the time. Another example would an injection of Alpha (a really good feeling comes over you). Alpha goes with SMR/Beta, Alpha also goes with Theta, Theta goes nice with Alpha or Delta.

Re: Entrainment
The term entrainment is a bit misleading in that it implies that if you subject yourself to a frequency repeatedly, your brain will become trained to snap into that frequency at will. If only it were that easy.

The idea of entrainment does have some merit though and that is if you can coax your brain waves into a desired state and you repeat that exercise frequently, you can condition yourself to achieve that state more quickly and you can condition yourself to stay in that state longer. It's actually a form of Biofeedback, it's just occurring in a more passive (or unconscious) state.

Hope this answers your question - though I suspect it may raise a whole new set of questions.

M.