Brainwave entrainment and the natural production of hormones

Recently, scientists have discovered that certain brainwave frequencies help the brain to release naturally a number of highly beneficial substances, including (HGH) or the human growth hormone. As we become older, the brain creates lesser quantities of these hormones and as consequence we can develop many ageing symptoms and diseases. Therefore, By entrain the brain with these frequencies our health can be improved.

Recent research made by Dr. Vincent Giampapa, M.D., an eminent anti-aging researcher and former president of the American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine, discovered that periodical deep meditation dramatically affects production of three important hormones related to increased longevity, stress, and general well-being: cortisol, DHEA, and melatonin.

He found that low brainwaves such as Alpha and Theta help the brain to produce DHEA and melatonin significantly. One study noted an increment in DHEA of as much as 44%. Some even had a DHEA augmentation of up to 90%. Melatonin increases were even more astounding, with average increases of 98% recorded. Many participants even had increments of up to 300%.

By contrast, cortisol levels decreased by an average of 47%. Certainly, not all study participants obtained the same results, but around of 70% of the study participants achieved the above improvements. As you should know, cortisol is the main age-accelerating hormone.


Cortisol

Produced naturally by the adrenal glands, cortisol is a hormone that increases blood sugar, blood pressure, and reduces immune responses. That is the reason Dr. Giampapa say that cortisol is the principal age-accelerating hormone. This hormone interferes with learning and memory and is, in general, bad news for your health and your well-being.

For the reasons exposed above, cortisol is known as the "stress hormone" because it is involved in the response to stress and anxiety. The more of it you have, the more stressed you feel, and the more vulnerable to disease you are and the faster you get older.


DHEA

The DHEA hormone is also produced by our adrenal glands. DHEA is the precursor, or source ingredient, of virtually every hormone that your body needs.

DHEA level is a key determinant of our physiological age and strength to disease. When levels are low, we are more susceptible to accelerated aging and disease; when they're high, our body is at its peak, healthy, and able to face diseases successfully.

Thus, DHEA acts as a snubber against hormones related with stress (such as cortisol). For that reason DHEA is important, because as you get older and make less DHEA you become more susceptible to stress and disease.

A research published in the New England Journal of Medicine (December 11, 1986) found that a 100 microgram per deciliter increase in DHEA blood levels corresponded with a 48% reduction in mortality due to cardiovascular disorders and a 36% reduction in mortality for any other reason.


Melatonin

Melatonin, produced by the pineal gland, is a hormone that helps to create restful sleep. The incapacity to sleep deeply can dramatically decrease the quality of your life and to a great degree speed up the aging process. The production of this important hormone rapidly declines with age. Recent research also reveals that Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant.

Biological implications of reduced melatonin:

Melatonin is a neurohormone whose production is minimum during the day and maximum at night. It passes through cell membranes and acts as a highly potent antioxidant to sweep away free radicals that cause damage to DNA, Reiter (1995).

Therefore, a reduction in melatonin is related with diseases produced by free radicals such as cancer, aging, neurological diseases, grave heart disease and even heart attack, Reiter and Robinson (1995). This reduction also can alter blood pressure and heart rate, as well as, the neurological, cardiopulmonary and reproductive functions.

These studies suggest that reduced melatonin will also diminish the strength of the immune system and increase the risk of cardiac, neurological, and carcinogenic disease, and even death, because the lack of antioxidant activity.

The relationship of melatonin reduction and its effect on health

Reiter and Robinson (1995) and Brzezinski (1997) reviewed the clinical studies involved with melatonin reduction. Dr Brzezinski identified roles for melatonin in sleep and circadian rhythm, mood, sexual performance, reproduction, cancer, immune system response, and aging.

Dr. Russell Reiter, an eminent melatonin researcher, is the founder and chief editor of the Journal of Pineal Research. Reiter and Robinson confirmed all of the effects identified by Brzezinski, and added arthritis, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, blood clotting and stroke, cardiac arrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, heart attack, epilepsy, manic depression, suicide, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases to the sequel of the lack of melatonin.

Many published papers can be cited to justify each of these effects on health. Most of the 21 associated conditions are related to the oxidizing damage of free radicals and the multiple roles of melatonin as potent antioxidant, sleep enhancer and immune system booster.


Serotonin

The serotonin hormone has various functions, including the regulation of mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction, and some cognitive functions including memory and learning.

Theta and delta brainwaves meditation increases the production of serotonin which is a calming neurotransmitter in the brain.

Human Growth Hormone

The human growth hormone (HGH) is a natural hormone found in our bodies that stimulates growth and cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. HGH is usually used clinically to treat children's growth disorders and adult growth hormone deficiency. In recent years, replacement therapies with human growth hormones (HGH) have become popular against aging and weight management. Reported effects include decreased body fat, increased muscle mass, increased bone density, increased energy levels, improved skin tone and texture, increased sexual function and improved immune system function.

After our adolescent years our bodies produce less levels of HGH. This leads to increase body fat, decrease immunity, impoverish skin tone, decrease libido, and other symptoms usually associated with aging.

You can achieve naturally some increase in HGH by exercising, improving diet habits, and reducing body weight to optimum levels.

In the market you can find treatments with pure HGH injected to raise HGH levels but these treatments are extremely expensive. Most of the supplements on the market today contain very low levels of HGH (to keep the price low) too low to have any real, lasting effect.

Recent research indicates that the best way to elevate HGH levels is to stimulate the body to produce more HGH. Preferably to introduce more HGH into the body, you can stimulate your own pituitary gland to produce more HGH.

But how can you stimulate your own pituitary gland?

The answer is with brainwave entrainment. It was originally believed that older pituitary glands didn’t have the capacity to produce large amounts of HGH. However, recent studies have shown that aging pituitary glands are capable of producing as much HGH as young pituitary glands, if it is adequately stimulated.

HGH stimulation with brainwave entrainment is a sound frequency product which has been scientifically proven to stimulate the Pituitary gland and generate a measurable increase in human growth hormone.

In fact, the effects of HGH increase are dramatic: greater muscle tone, stronger bones, less fat, increased brain function and younger-looking, tighter skin. HGH is one of the reasons kids have endless energy. Their pituitary glands are full of this hormone.

Now you know you can produce HGH and many other healing hormones, naturally and safely with a daily brainwave entrainment session.

In Mentallion.com you can two excellent links to try these brainwave entrainment sessions:
Healing / growth / rejuvenation session
Pure theta brainwave session
Self hypnosis with theta waves

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Four tools to build your own brainwave entrainment therapies

Our brain emits natural electrical frequencies under the 30hz. A electrical frequency represents a type of mental state. Scientists have classified four main mental according a range of frequencies: They are:

Mental states
Name	Frequency	State	Play
Gamma	40 Hz +	High alert
Beta	14 - 40 Hz	Normal alert
Alpha	8 - 14 Hz	Light relax
Theta	3 - 8 Hz	Deep relax, meditation
Delta	0.1 - 3 Hz	Deep sleep

Courtesy from mentallion.com


However, can I modify my mental state to my will?

The answer is yes, what we need is a stimuli, visual or sonorous, to increase or reduce our brain activity. For example if you are awake in the job, you will be in the Beta state. If you receive a stimuli of 10hz you will be more relaxed. This state corresponds to the alpha state. The techonolgy is brainwave entrainment.


How can I build my own brainwave entrainment session?

Here I will show 4 tools to build brainwave entrainment sessions.


Ginaural

This software is free and it has been used extensively in scientific research. It comes in versions for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. In addition, this software allow to share in a P2P way your created audios.

The program comes with one example session but you can download more examples in the example files section.




Brain Wave Generator

This software is freeware. It requires monthly registration to keep working. It is easy to use and comes with example sesions for several purposes. You can create also your own sessions.

In addition the software owners support a site where you can download examples not only from the develpers but also from the users that send their own creations, such as astral proyections, neurosis and anything you can imagine.

Links:

Download bwgen

Download background sounds

Examples library



I-Doser

The program is free but the therapies (doses) are priced. I-doser goes far and offer us experiences more psychedelic such as Acid, Opious and petoye. Each dosis cost around 5 dollars. The program comes with 2 sample dosis but you cannot make your own.





Download I-Doser

Go to I-Doser store



Neuro-Programmer 2

This proram is an excelent piece of software, nice interface amd many examples and options to develop your own therapies. The program only support WAV generation but you can conv ert them with a MP3 converter such as FreeRIP.

Other nice characteristic is the availability of background sounds such as cascades, rains, storms, etc.

Download Neuro-programmer 2

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The Big Question: Is depression increasing, and what is the best way to treat it?

October 29, 2009

The Big Question: Is depression increasing, and what is the best way to treat it?

By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor

Why are we asking this now?

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) yesterday published updated guidelines on the treatment of depression calling for extra focus on talking therapy, especially cognitive behaviour therapy, for depression and less focus on drugs. It also warned GPs to be more alert to depression in people with chronic health problems, amongst whom the condition is three times more common than in the general population.

Have anti-depressant prescriptions increased?

Yes, spectacularly. Prescriptions have more than doubled since the mid-1990s to over 36 million a year, leading to allegations that Britain has become a pill popping nation, addicted to "happiness" drugs. An estimated 3.5 million people take the drugs, collectively known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which include Prozac and Seroxat.

Their popularity soared after they were launched in the late 1980s, heavily promoted by drug companies as safer and having fewer side-effects than the older tricyclic antidepressants. The publication in 1994 of Listening To Prozac by Peter Kramer, in which he suggested anyone with too little "joy juice" might give themselves a dose of the "mood brightener" Prozac, lifted sales into the stratosphere.

Is that because more people are depressed?

Apparently not. The number of patients newly diagnosed with depression by GPs in the UK in the 11 years from 1993 to 2004 declined by 25 per cent, according to researchers at Southampton University. They based their calculation, published last week in the British Medical Journal, on results from 170 GP practices which showed the incidence among men declined from 7.83 to 5.97 cases per 1,000 patient years. Among women, who suffer more depression than men, the incidence declined from 15.83 cases to 10.06 per 1,000 patient years.

So why the rise in anti-depressants?

People are taking them for longer, according to the Southampton researchers. They found the average number of prescriptions issued per patient doubled from 2.8 in 1993 to 5.6 in 2004. The majority were given as long-term treatment or intermittently to patients with repeated episodes of depression. The researchers found 90 per cent of patients prescribed drugs for depression are now taking them continuously or as repeated courses over several years.

What is depression?

Loss of pleasure in things that were once enjoyable and in other people and your usual activities. Often accompanied by irritability, tiredness, feelings of worthlessness and thoughts of suicide, problems with sleep, concentration and memory. It affects nearly one in six people in the UK at some point in their life, according to Nice, and half of those affected will go on to have further episodes.

Should fewer people be on anti-depressants?

Not necessarily. Depression can be a serious illness which destroys a person's quality of life and imposes a huge burden on them, their families and society. It causes more deaths, by suicide, than any other psychiatric disorder. In severe cases drugs can be life-saving. In moderate cases, too, drugs can transform a person's outlook so that they are able to make changes to their life necessary to escape from depression, which seemed impossible while they were depressed. Depression has historically been under-treated and in the 1980s, the Royal College of Psychiatrists launched a campaign which ran for a decade to increase the numbers in treatment.

Should more people be taking anti-depressants?

Yes and no. There are many people who suffer with depression, sometimes for years, before seeking treatment, who would be better off on the pills. On the other hand, there are many with mild depression who are popping pills when talking therapy might have been a more effective way of dealing with their difficulties. In some GP practices in south Wales, for example, as many as one in 10 of the adult population are taking anti-depressants. This is medicalising social problems on a mass scale.

Is depression neglected?

Yes, because of the associated stigma. There was a comic acknowledgement of this - comic, if it weren't tragic - when No 10 last week ordered a change to a headline on its website that read "Battle to stop depression is being won - PM". No 10 officials, who were allegedly aghast when they saw it, ordered the immediate substitution of "downturn" for depression.

This reflected the extraordinary sensitivity over questions about the PM's state of mind - as controversially put by BBC presenter Andrew Marr two weeks ago - as compared with questions about his physical health (No 10 was happy to reveal Gordon Brown had received attention for a retinal tear to his eye). The episode highlights one of the biggest challenges faced by people with mental problems such as depression - coping with the stigma. If you break your leg, you have a problem with your leg. If you have depression there is a problem with you.

Do anti-depressants work?

Yes, according to most psychiatrists. Research suggests 70 per cent of people treated with anti-depressant drugs feel better as a result. But a controversial paper published last year questioned this view. Meta-analysis of 47 trials of six of the best known anti-depressant drugs, including some trials that were unpublished, concluded the drugs were no better than placebo in the vast majority of patients. Only in a very small group of the most extremely depressed were the drugs more effective than placebo. The findings by Professor Irving Hirsch of the University of Hull, published in the online journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine have been challenged by a number of researchers.

How should you treat it?

A couple of decades ago the advice to those who were depressed and out of work was to get "on yer bike". Today it is as likely to be to get on the couch. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), in which patients are taught to break habitual ways of seeing things and to think positively, has revolutionised the way doctors approach the treatment of depression. Whereas in the past GPs might have prescribed Prozac or other anti-depressants, CBT is now the treatment of first choice - where it is available - for the millions who turn up complaining they cannot cope.

What does Nice recommend?

Nice says exercise combined with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) should be the first line of treatment for mild to moderate depression. Regular exercise is a good way of beating the blues and CBT is established as the most effective of the talking treatments. Many doctors worry that drugs create a dependency culture. The Nice guidance is aimed at helping people to develop the skills to overcome their depression. For people with moderate or severe depression, it says anti-depressants should be combined with CBT for the best results. In people who are severely depressed, drug treatment may be necessary initially to lift their mood sufficiently for them to respond to the CBT.

Should more people be prescribed drugs for depression?

Yes...

* Depression can be a serious illness that causes more deaths than any other psychiatric disorder

* Anti-depressants are effective at lifting mood in 70 per cent of those who take them

* Many people suffer for years with depression before seeking help because of the stigma

No...

* Prescribing drugs creates dependency without helping people to solve their problems

* In some parts of the country, prescribing is so widespread it amounts to mass medication

* Cognitive behaviour therapy is established as an effective treatment for depression

Source: The Independent

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Self Hypnosis before, Brainwave Entrainment now

Self hypnosis is actually the power to enter into the subconscious mind and try as best as we can to speak to the powerful subconscious mind. Hypnotism has been around for a long time, and it even has been used in ancient times to measure some sort of mind control. Many hypnotists have been on TV and what you see is really perhaps a glamorised version of the real thing. There are no beautiful assistants and there are no advertisement breaks, what you need to understand is that you should think about more advanced techniques like brainwave entrainment. Now I am sure that you have heard about it and now, we will tell you how to effectively use brainwave entrainment.



For one thing, you need a really quiet space, and if you can find one in your house, then that is really great, but if you cant then, you need to be able to find one. The good thing about this is that you can actually induce silence through the use of music plugged into your ears, and make sure that it is really relaxing and soothing music. Either method is fine, as along as you are able to concentrate and reflect inwards to be able to start the self hypnotism process. So this is the first factor that you need to think about and gain.



The next thing you need to do is to actually be able to make sure that you can learn about your own breathing techniques. You need to keep them under control and gain some sort of rhythm when you are doing this. Breathing is one of the most important things when you are talking about the ability to actually control your breathing and relax your mind. This is one of the most important factors when you are talking about self hypnosis, because when you are able to control your breathing, you would be able to induce your own peace and time of zen.



The other thing you might want to do is to actually tap into the power of the brain. If you did not know, the brain has its own mechanism to actually induce its own super states and hypnotism, and these are down to the brainwaves that are being produced by the neurons in the brain as well. So when it comes to this, all you need to do is to reverse engineer this situation with the use of some available technology and there are plenty of these that can be found online for your own usage. This is where brainwave entrainment comes into the picture.



So this is the good news about how you can induce your own mental improvement episode - all from the power of brainwave entrainment technology, and as you can see, it is not as difficult as you think it is. All you need to be able to do is to get the right sort of environment, the right sort of mental control and sometimes, the right kind of technology.




Invited author author: Greg Frost

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How to Beat Insomnia With Therapies Based on Brainwave Entrainment

Insomnia is a common symptom of several sleep disorders. It is characterized by the permanent difficulty in falling asleep, staying asleep or sleep less than 8 hours daily. Thus, what makes one sleepless might be very different from the causes that another person has to sleep. For that reason there are not an universal insomnia treatment for everyone. However, a common pattern among these diverse people is found that can help these people to alleviate insomnia.

Many insomniacs take pills for sleep as insomnia treatment and other tranquilizers to get asleep. Yet this is not a good idea, all hypnotic drug drugs have the potential of causing psychological dependence. In fact, certain classes of drugs such as benzodiazepines and newer non benzodiazepines drugs (lorazepam) can also cause physical dependence which manifests in the return of the symptoms if the drug is not carefully managed. The benzodiazepines and non benzodiazepines hypnotic medicines also have a number of side effects such as day time tiredness, slow reactions when driving, cognitive deterioration and falls and fractures. Aging people are more susceptible to these side effects.

However, one thing is common among insomniac people: the brainwave patterns. Insomnia is often a result of a brain lacking in a very specific brainwave band called SMR (Sensory Motor Rhythm). SMR is responsible for inhibiting motion during sleep, among other duties. Increasing SMR generally results in deeper sleep and more energy throughout the day.

Therefore, there is a way to alleviate insomnia naturally without dangerous external substances. This is through the use of brainwave entrainment technology as an alternative medicine . A typical sleep induction therapy uses mainly SMR waves inducing the brain to a sleep state. By using sleep induction session based on brainwave entrainment sessions regularly, you can not only improve your falling asleep and your quality of sleep. but you can also increase your brain's ability to produce naturally these brainwaves, allowing you to better deal with insomnia in the future what is close to a insomnia cure.

A common brainwave entrainment therapy consists of an MP3 audio file with a special beat or pulse that helps to synchronize your brain with the desired mental state. It is very effective at helping you get to sleep because as your brain synchronizes with the pulse, it slows down all the running thoughts inside your head, allowing you to relax and finally get a good night's sleep. The main advantage is that you do not need any training as you do with meditation. Just wear headphones, listen the therapy and then, go to bed.

In summary, Insomnia is often a result of a brain lacking in a very specific brainwave band called SMR. SMR is responsible for inhibiting motion during sleep, among other duties. Increasing SMR generally results in deeper sleep and more energy throughout the day. The insomnia help session have these frequencies, that's why it works.

If you want to experiment with brainwave entrainment based therapies mentioned in the present article, playing and downloading them for FREE. Go to Mentallion.com: Free online therapies for mental health (http://www.mentallion.com ).

For FREE therapies specifically for migraine follow the next link: http://www.mentallion.com/search.action?keyword=sleep

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How to beat insomnia with therapies based on sounds and music

About chronic insomnia

The chronic lack of sleep is one of the most terrible experiences that one can have in life. Only those who have experienced chronic insomnia can really understand how weakening it is to be so sleep deprived.

When you go to bed at night completely exhausted and then sleep don't come. You lie there, eyes shut trying to relax and the minutes go by, but you just can't sleep.

Some nights you maybe haven't slept at all when you see the first light of dawn begin to creep over the window ledge, or you hear the dawn chorus starting up, and you know that you are in for another exhaustingly difficult day.

Therefore, insomnia is the difficult of initiating or maintaining sleep, or both. Not only does lack of sleep make you feel bad, it also has unpleasant and dangerous side effects. If you can't sleep you are at risk and you need to fix it. Research has shown that there are many problems associated with chronic sleep deprivation.

Some facts about insomnia.

• Lack of sleep can shorten your life. Death from all causes is lowest among adults who get seven to eight hours of sleep nightly, and significantly higher among those who sleep less than seven.
• Intellectual performance is reduced. Critical thinking plummets (so don’t stay up all night cramming for an exam).
• Reaction time is slowed, which could be fatal in some situations such as driving a car.
• The immune system is damaged. Sleep researcher Eve van Cauter at the University of Chicago gave flu vaccine to subjects who had slept only four hours per night for the previous six nights. Their immune systems produced only half the normal number of antibodies in response to the vaccine. This study also showed:

1. Heart rate and blood pressure were raised
2. Insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition that affects glucose tolerance and produces weight gain developed.
3. Leptin levels were reduced. Leptin is secreted by fat cells and inhibits appetite, so weight gain would eventually results from lost sleep. Other studies have shown similar results

But being tired isn't an impressive condition, people can't see it and they don't get it. They can't understand how bad you feel. Your doctor may know very little about sleep and sleep deprivation. The answer from the doctors is usually a prescription for sleeping pills.


Why Sleeping Pills Are Not The Answer

You can take a sleeping pill occasionally or in emergencies without harm but taking them on a regular basis is a disaster. The longer you take them the more likely you are to need to increase the dose, and then increase it again. Eventually you may develop rebound insomnia, which means they stop working altogether.

Even when they do work sleeping pills are not really giving you the sleep you need. They knock you out but they do not allow you to go through the sleep cycle in a normal way.

Sleep isn't unconsciousness. It's dynamic, cycling roughly every 90 minutes during the night through the important stages of sleep. Without this you aren't getting a normal sleep with all the refreshing benefits of sleep that you need. No wonder you still don't feel rested


A Natural Remedy For Insomnia

Because sleeping pills are not a good answer to insomnia people who can't sleep are looking for a natural insomnia cure. Brainwave entrainment is a natural remedy for insomnia that you may not have tried. Brainwave entrainment has helped many people to regain the ability to sleep well all night and all you have to do is listen.

Brainwave entrainment works to slow down the brain waves so that they move into sleep mode and allow the listener to fall asleep. If they wake in the night they can listen again.


Sleep and Brainwave Entrainment

Your brain uses electrical signals to communicate with all the systems in your body. The rate of these electrical pulses, or brainwaves, can be measured using an EEG (electroencephalograph) machine. Brainwaves vary in their rhythm depending on what we are doing.

When we are alert and busy the activity in our brains is fast and the waves are closer together. When we are relaxed the wave pattern is much slower. As we begin to go to sleep, the brain waves become slower still.

If you can't sleep your brain waves are most likely not slowing down enough. If you have a busy mind and can't stop thinking, then you are not relaxing. Your brain waves will keep on going fast in the same way as they do when you are busy during the day.

What you want is for your brainwaves to slow down to alpha. Lying in bed with your eyes closed and listening to a brainwave entrainment audio can guide your brain into a slower rhythm. As this happens you normally drift gently into a natural sleep.

When your brainwaves slow down, your heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, breathing and muscle tension all relax too. The idea is to get the brain waves to slow right down to alpha so that you can easily fall asleep. Then the entrainment continues and can keep you asleep so that after about 60 minutes you reach deep delta sleep waves.

So why isn't brainwave entrainment prescribed for sleep problems more often? Why isn't it the first line of treatment for anyone who can't sleep before drugs are even considered?

The answer is that most doctors don't know about it. They aren't taught about it in medical school and have little opportunity to learn about it later. When doctors can't sleep they generally resort to a prescription drugs-and suffer the same problems as you do!

But brainwave entrainment is getting better known now and the word is getting out that this is an easy, fast, inexpensive insomnia cure that anyone who can't sleep should at least try.

If you would like to know more about brainwave entrainment just click here- it will open in a new window. How Brainwave Entrainment works.


The Sleep Induction treatment

If you're looking to finally rid yourself of insomnia and get a good night's sleep, you should try listeneing the different sessions to sleep in sleep therapies from Mentallion.com Free online therapies for mental health.

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Brainwave entrainment frequencies for health

Audio / Visual (Hz)	Approximate Effect
0.5 - 4 Hz (Delta)	Help with Chronic Pain & Fibromyalgia (D. Siever), Muscle-Contraction Headaches (G.D. Solomon)
4.5 Hz	SSC, Shamanic State Of Consciousness (M. Harner, M. Hutchison). Researchers found that during trance-inducing rituals or Tibetan Buddhism chants, certain beats were always present. 4.5 Hz seems to be the best frequency for entering a Shamanic trance.
4 - 8 Hz (Theta)	Light Sleep, Vivid Imagery, Spiritual / Transformational experiences, Behavior & Attitude change and Increased Creativity (M. Hutchison). Can be used to help people fall sleep.
5 - 8 Hz	Bringing up repressed memories (D. Siever)
6 - 9 Hz	Lucid Dreaming (D. Siever)
6 - 12 Hz	Immune System enhancement (G. J. Schummer, Ph.D., M. Crane, L. Wong, C. Aquirre)
7.83 Hz (Schumann Resonance)	7.83 is the Schumann Resonance, or the frequency that electro-magnetic waves travel around the earth's ionosphere. This is probably the most useful known frequency. It stimulates the release of growth hormones (N. Shealy). PET scans show that cerebral blood flow in the back of the brain occurs most at this frequency (P. Fox, M. Raichle). Studies of the most advanced meditators have repeatedly shown 7.8 to be a significant frequency (M. Cade). It is also referred to as the Hypnagogic state. More spiritual experiences have been reported using this frequency than any other. Out of body experiences have also been reported. The Harmonics of this frequency also appear to have some of the same effects. In particular, growth hormone release is prominent at 31.32 Hz.
8 - 10 Hz	Learning new information, Memorization (not comprehension) (M. Hutchison)
8 - 12 Hz (Alpha)	Relaxation, Help with Anxiety, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) (D. Siever). Alpha sessions can significantly increase blood flow in the brain. Can also produce temporary grogginess. Can be used to decrease depression in SOME people, but not all. It is usually recommended to use Beta frequencies for Depression treatment.
8.4 Hz	Dissociation, Deep relaxation. Results in Lowered Anxiety, relaxed jaw muscles and can reduce the need for anesthetics (B. Margolis, D. Siever, D. Morse, A. Manns, N. Thomas). Good to use at dentist appointments.
10 Hz	Pain Control (N. Shealy), Relaxation, Dissociation, Anti-Addiction
10 - 22 Hz	ADD/ADHD, Increasing IQ and Improving Behavior (J.L Carter, H.L. Russell, 1993, M. Hutchison) (13+ in particular). Can also be used for Sports/Skills Enhancement. 14 Hz was alternated with 22 Hz to improve grades in a college study. 10 Hz was alternated with 18 Hz to help with ADD/ADHD and improve cognitive performance. 15 - 20 Hz has been used in multiple studies to increase cognitive performance as well. 10 - 15 Hz seems to be best for stability and focus.
12 - 15 Hz (SMR)	Relaxed Attention, Quieting the Body, Good for reading (Siever, Hutchison). Help with Insomnia, Depression, Concentration, PMS, ADD/ADHD, Anxiety Reduction, Improvements in Immune System
15 - 20 Hz/td>	Attention, Increase Cognitive Performance, Reduced Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder, Learning, Anxiety Reduction (M. Hutchison, D. Siever, Othmer, L. Thompson, Ph.D. and M. Thompson, M.D.)
18 Hz	Energizing effect (M. Hutchison)
18 - 24 Hz	Euphoria, can also result in headaches, anxiety
20+ Hz	Can result in anxiety, headaches
22 - 40 Hz	Typical activity as "out of body" experiences are occurring or are about to occur, while in Theta (Dr. E. Wilson, http://www.snr-jnt.org/JournalNT/JNT(2-1)5.html)
31.32 Hz (Schumann Resonance Harmonic)	HGH (Human Growth Hormone) Release stimulation (has only been tested using photic stimulation, N. Shealy)
30 - 50 Hz	Help with Migraines (has only been tested with Photic stimulation, D.J. Anderson)
36 - 40 Hz	High level information processing. Not much is known or has been studied regarding higher frequencies (Gamma), but it is hypothesized that higher frequencies could be helpful for multi-tasking abilities.
40 Hz	Energizing, focused effect (M. Hutchison)
Modulation between 10 to 60 Hz	Mental "Flexing", disentrainment, or breaking out of "stuck" brainwave patterns.

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What is Mentallion.com?

Mentallion.com is a non-profit website where we try to democratize a very effective, very unobtrusive, and mostly unknown healing technology called brainwave entrainment delivered through binaural beats. In other words you can heal yourself by just listening special sounds and music. This technology has been used clinically for more than 70 years and has been useful for a set of mental afflictions.

With brainwave entrainment you can get quick relief (and also get long lasting effects if you use them repeatedly) from common mental problems such as stress, migraine, depression, and other 14 ones. In addition, you will find special sessions to empower your mental skills such as inspiration, concentration, and IQ, among others.

The link is:

http://www.mentallion.com

In total, there are 30 basic therapies ranging from sessions for deep sleep to sessions for high alertness. Furthermore, there are also almost 300 remixes of basic therapies with popular music including several genres: from country music to classical, including newage and trance and others. This is for better experience of taking the bitter medicine.

The therapies are free and no need of registration. So I you need a quick relive of any mental affliction or extra mental power go to Mentallion.com. Until now 10,000 people have enjoyed the benefits of these therapies and I hope you will be the next relieved.

If you are healthy, please send this message to a relative or friend that may need them.

Greetings
Mentallion team


Healing sessions:
- Addiction reduction
- Anxiety reduction
- Depression reduction
- Pain relief
- Migraine relief
- Healing
- Hypertension - blood pressure
- Insomnia help
- Pre-menstrual session
- Insonmaniac killer
- Stress relief
- Super nap
- ADD/ADHD

Power sessions
- Alertness session
- Athletic performance
- Concentration focus
- Creative focus
- Creative brainstorming
- Motivation
- Out the body experience & altered mind states
- IQ comprehensive
- IQ focus
- Before exam/speech session
- Visualization and Law of attraction
- Sex performance

Music genres:
- Trance (excellent for concentration and creativity)
- Rock-pop
- New-age
- Classical
- Jazz
- Gregorian

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Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why.

Merck was in trouble. In 2002, the pharmaceutical giant was falling behind its rivals in sales. Even worse, patents on five blockbuster drugs were about to expire, which would allow cheaper generics to flood the market. The company hadn't introduced a truly new product in three years, and its stock price was plummeting.

In interviews with the press, Edward Scolnick, Merck's research director, laid out his battle plan to restore the firm to preeminence. Key to his strategy was expanding the company's reach into the antidepressant market, where Merck had lagged while competitors like Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline created some of the best-selling drugs in the world. "To remain dominant in the future," he toldForbes, "we need to dominate the central nervous system."

His plan hinged on the success of an experimental antidepressant codenamed MK-869. Still in clinical trials, it looked like every pharma executive's dream: a new kind of medication that exploited brain chemistry in innovative ways to promote feelings of well-being. The drug tested brilliantly early on, with minimal side effects, and Merck touted its game-changing potential at a meeting of 300 securities analysts.

...

Interesting article from Wired; read the complete article in:

www.wired.com

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10 Cool Facts About Our Brain

The Brain

The human brain is the most complex and least understood part of the human anatomy. There may be a lot we don’t know, but here are a few interesting facts that we’ve got covered.

1. Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour.

Ever wonder how you can react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away? It’s due to the super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body and vice versa, bringing reactions at the speed of a high powered luxury sports car.

2. The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb.

The cartoon image of a light bulb over your head when a great thought occurs isn’t too far off the mark. Your brain generates as much energy as a small light bulb even when you’re sleeping.

3. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Or any other encyclopedia for that matter. Scientists have yet to settle on a definitive amount, but the storage capacity of the brain in electronic terms is thought to be between 3 or even 1,000 terabytes. The National Archives of Britain, containing over 900 years of history, only takes up 70 terabytes, making your brain’s memory power pretty darn impressive.

4. Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream.

The brain only makes up about 2% of our body mass, yet consumes more oxygen than any other organ in the body, making it extremely susceptible to damage related to oxygen deprivation. So breathe deep to keep your brain happy and swimming in oxygenated cells.

5. The brain is much more active at night than during the day.

Logically, you would think that all the moving around, complicated calculations and tasks and general interaction we do on a daily basis during our working hours would take a lot more brain power than, say, lying in bed. Turns out, the opposite is true. When you turn off your brain turns on. Scientists don’t yet know why this is but you can thank the hard work of your brain while you sleep for all those pleasant dreams.

6. Scientists say the higher your I.Q. the more you dream.

While this may be true, don’t take it as a sign you’re mentally lacking if you can’t recall your dreams. Most of us don’t remember many of our dreams and the average length of most dreams is only 2-3 seconds–barely long enough to register.

7. Neurons continue to grow throughout human life.

For years scientists and doctors thought that brain and neural tissue couldn’t grow or regenerate. While it doesn’t act in the same manner as tissues in many other parts of the body, neurons can and do grow throughout your life, adding a whole new dimension to the study of the brain and the illnesses that affect it.

8. Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons.

Not all neurons are the same. There are a few different types within the body and transmission along these different kinds can be as slow as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec.

9. The brain itself cannot feel pain.

While the brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or burn yourself, the brain itself does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain. That doesn’t mean your head can’t hurt. The brain is surrounded by loads of tissues, nerves and blood vessels that are plenty receptive to pain and can give you a pounding headache.

10. 80% of the brain is water.

Your brain isn’t the firm, gray mass you’ve seen on TV. Living brain tissue is a squishy, pink and jelly-like organ thanks to the loads of blood and high water content of the tissue. So the next time you’re feeling dehydrated get a drink to keep your brain hydrated.

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The Schumann Resonance: Synchronyzing with the planet earth

"Schumann Resonance" refers to the frequency of the electromagnetic field of the earth and this is called the Earth Resonance Frequency (ERF). This frequency was discovered by the physicist Winfried Otto Schumann and calculated at 7.83 hertz. For that reason this frequency is therefore called the Schumann Resonance and is important because is the frequency in which the vibration that all the beings on earth harmonize with.

The ERF frequency has been associated with high levels of hypnotizability, meditation, increased HGH levels and cerebral blood flow levels seem to be much higher while this frequency is being stimulated. With this frequency, we are most receptive to healing suggestion and influence. A brainwave entrainment session based on this frequency makes an excellent afternoon meditation, and can also be used for sleep induction or general relaxation.

In fact, the Earth Resonance Frequency is the vibrational environment that all beings on earth evolved into and they respond to it in very subtle ways. Because the life has developed in this environment since the beginning of time, many of the basic functions of the living beings are related to it. For example, our nervous system fires at close to this rate. Our brain goes into an Alpha state under the influence of this original frequency. This creates a supra-normal state which enhances relaxation, healing, and super-learning.

Dolphins, whales and crickets use that frequency for communication as it functions like the carrier waves of a radio signal. Studies have shown that the effect on the human system is significant and when we are in the presence of the Earth Resonance Frequency, our human nervous system is triggered back to a basic state of meditation and balance.

In Mentallion.com you can find this therapy in the following address:

http://www.mentallion.com/search.action?keyword=Visualization

The vibration is an audio tone that can be felt but not heard. It causes the brainwaves to entrain with it and triggers the brain to move easily into an Alpha state. It also helps people get in touch with the earth itself. By aligning ourselves on every level with the earth, we support our wellbeing and create a greater receptivity for healing to occur.

For believers, the ERF frequency is the ideal companion for meditation sessions involving visualization and Law of Attraction.

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Tutorial about Health Synchronization with Brainwave entrainment and Binaural Beats

This slide is a synthesis of what Brainwave entrainment and Binaural Beats are. The essential point is the concept of Health Synchronization. In other words, if you are sick you are out of synchronization and then can synchronize with health through Brainwave Entrainment.


Binaural beats ia one way about how you can get entrainment. Other ways are isochronic tones, ligths and even physical pulsations.



In the following tutorial you will be introduced in the topic.

Health Synchronization

View more presentations from Marcelo Honores.

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How the human brain works

In the online review the New Scientis you can find and excellent multimedia animation about the brain and a suggestion of how the human brain works.

The link is:

http://www.newscientist.com/movie/brain-interactive

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Brainwave Entrainment in 5 Minutes!

David Riklan has just created a fantastic video all about the science behind brainwave entrainment.

Even though this video is for commercial purposes is useful to watch. In Mentallion.com you can try all kind of therapies based on brainwave entrainment for FREE.

So, check out this video:

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Anxiety reduction using binaural beats and barinave entrainment

Anxiety, typically associated with uneasiness, fear, or worry, is a generalized mood condition that occurs without an identifiable menace. As such, it is distinguished from fear, which occurs in the presence of an observed threat. Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is the result of threats that are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable.

Common Anxiety symptoms are heart palpitations, fatigue, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, stomach aches, or headaches. Physically, the body prepares the organism to deal with a threat. Blood pressure and heart rate are increased, sweating is increased, flow of blood to the major muscle groups is increased, and immune and digestive system functions are inhibited (the fight or flight response). External signs of anxiety may include pale skin, sweating, trembling, and pupil dilation. Someone suffering from anxiety might also experience it as a sense of dread or panic.

The main characteristic of Anxiety is the overabundance of higher Beta brainwaves. Likewise, a lack of alpha and theta waves is observed. One undesirable consequence of this condition is that some people lacking these vital brainwaves often turn to external substances (such as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs) to induce the production of these brainwaves, providing temporary and potentially dangerous, relief.

Fortunately, there is an a way to reduce anxiety with a natural treatment using brainwave entrainment technology. The anxiety reduction session is a very relaxing therapy that uses mainly alpha waves inducing the brain to a state of light relaxation. This session has proven being incredibly effective with Anxiety and Stress disorders. By using relaxation focused brainwave entrainment sessions regularly, you can not only reduce anxiety, stress, and cravings for external substances. but you can also increase your brain's ability to produce these brainwaves, allowing you to better deal with anxiety in the future.

Like so many mental disorders there is no a "magic bullet" for anxiety or stress. No "one size fits all" solution will work for everybody. But it is an undisputed fact that Anxiety is vastly reduced by alpha/theta training.

Henry Adams, PhD., head of the alcoholism programs at St. Elizabeth's Hospital In Washington, found that alcoholics showed a 55% in alcohol consumption after a single relaxation session combined with a brief anti-alcohol suggestion.

Peninston & Kulkosky found that Alpha/Theta neurofeedback got successful results in 80% of those properly trained addicts becoming non-craving, healthy people.

In Mentallion.com you can find a FREE rich set of therapies based on sounds and music for Anxiety using the technology of brainwave entrainment. These therapies are playable and downloadable so you can use them in your MP3 player or computer.

The link is:

http://www.mentallion.com/search.action?keyword=anxiety

To use this session, find a quiet place, free of distraction. Make sure you are comfortable, in a chair or lying down. After starting the session, close your eyes and try to relax. During the session you should remain as calm and relaxed as possible.

Headphones are required for this session.

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Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Relief using Brainwave Entrainment based music

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain are common problems around the world. predominant in 3-5% of women and 2 to 4% of the general population, Fibromyalgia is characterized by persistent muscular pain, fatigue, sleeping problems and in some cases depression, anxiety and stress. The treatment of Fibromyalgia is still under study but the results of using brainwave entrainment are very promising:

In a comparative research on Fibromyalgia treatments, audio entrainment was better than both medical and nutritional treatments in many ways, including reduction of Pain and Anxiety. Combined treatment poved being more successful.

Another research conducted by Mike Twittey and David Siever reduced Chronic Pain in 15 participants over a period of study of two month . The Beck Depression Scale also indicated a significant reduction in depression.

In a case study performed by Dr. Fred Boersma, a man with a severe back injury was able to reduce his pain killer intake from 35 extra strength Tylenol daily, to only 2 or 3 pills daily! The man also reported a more positive attitude, no doubt due in part to the increase in endorphins and serotonin that the light and sound sessions stimulated.

A typical brainwave entrainment session, specifically designed for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain reduction, consists of Sub-Delta (0 - 1 hz) frequencies, which seem to have soothing effects on the limbic system (the amygdala and hypothalamus), which themselves operate at delta frequencies. It is theorized that this is the reason delta frequencies are so helpful with conditions such as fibromyalgia and chronic pain, as well hypertension.

Stimulation of Alpha waves in the brain also causes an increase in the release of serotonin, the body's own pain relief drug, and it has been shown to help in the relief of certain types of headaches (such as migraine) and other types of bodily pain and discomfort, such as fibromyalgia. Brainwave entrainment also helps in physical healing processes as well as improving the immune system.

In conclusion, a session of 15-30 minutes of fibromyalgia session based on sounds and music used repeatedly can reduce significantly the symptoms of these terrible afflictions.

If you want to experiment playing and downloading for FREE the different sessions mentioned here visit: http://www.mentallion.com

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Migraine Relief: Brainwave Entrainment a new treatment

Only 1% of the world population is free from headaches in their entire lifetime. Over a year, it is estimated that 90% of the population get at least one headache. The World Health Organization estimated in 2003 that 303 million people worldwide were migraineurs. A 2004 article suggested that there are almost 20 million migraine attacks happening every day.

Although self-medicate for migraines is an easy and common response today. Typical medicines for headaches, such as aspirin, have non desirable secondary effects; for example: damage to the stomach, allergy, etc.

Fortunately, there are a natural way to get rid of migraine, this way is through brainwave entrainment. If you do not know, brainwave entrainment is about the synchronization of your brain with a source of frequencies to achieve a desired mental state. These frequencies can be generated by sounds, lights, physical vibrations. In this article I will talk about brainwave entrainment based on sounds and music.

A typical session of headache with these sounds or music reduces the activity in the brain and relaxes the listener. Unlike most sessions. Slow-Wave (Delta) stimulation has been shown effective to relieve headaches. This combined with Alpha waves stimulation, has also been found to be an excellent combination to reduce headache.

First, you have to find a brainwave entrainment session based on sounds and music. Them, find a quiet place, free of distraction. Make sure you are comfortable, in a chair or lying down. After starting the session, close your eyes and try to relax. Make sure to relax your forehead, eyelids and scalp in particular. Your eyes should be closed. You should listen at least 15 minutes of therapy.

This therapy has the following advantages: first; they act quickly, giving relief rapidly; second; if you use it repeatedly, the treatment will have long lasting effects. It is as your brain could be trained and learn how to behave.

In summary, your brain can be trained about how to live without migraine with a method that is effective, inexpensive, and unobtrusive.

Mentallion.com (http://www.mentallion.com) is the first health related web 2.0 website (or better health 2.0?) in delivering health online. You can experiment by yourself with brainwaves for FREE in http://www.mentallion.com, a new startup whose mission is to democratize this effective, unintrusive, and mostly unknown technology by making available a set of therapies to those who want to experiment with.


In addition, if you want a deeper brainwave training, you can buy in the store section one hour length brainwave therapies for healing or enhancement sessions.


Healing sessions:

• Addiction reduction


• Anxiety reduction


• Depression reduction


• Pain relief


• Migraine relief


• Healing


• Hypertension


• blood pressure


• Insomnia help


• Pre-menstrual session


• Insonmaniac killer


• Stress relief


• Super nap

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A redical way to help to reduce depression

Are you depressed? Do not worry. Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.

Furthermore, everyone, at some time in their life, will be affected by depression. Moreover, pre-schoolers are the fastest-growing market for antidepressants. At least four percent of preschoolers (over a million) are clinically depressed.

However, do you know what Depression is? From the point of view of neurology, depression is a brainwave imbalance common to depressed individuals. Depressed people tend to have an hyperactive right (emotional) hemisphere dominating their left (logical) one. That's why depressed people show irrational behavior and in many cases commit suicide.

Happily, brainwave entrainment offers and entirely new way to treat depression. Depression reduction sessions reduce activity in the right brain hemisphere, while increasing activity in the left, giving your more control over yourself and reducing irrational thought patterns.

In late 2007, David Cantor, Ph.D. released the details of a controlled pilot study on depression. He reported that after 4 weeks of using 14 Hz brainwave entrainment, testing revealed "a huge drop" in self-reported depression scores. The treatment even showed a sustained effect, with testing showing lasting results a month after treatment had ceased.

Dr. Norman Shealy, Dr. Ray Smith, Saul Rosenthal, Norman Wulfsohn, Sual Liss and other researchers have found that depression can be reduced with brainwave stimulation. Shealy studied Serotonin levels in particular, and found that a mere 2 weeks of treatment was enough to lift 60% of subjects out of depression. Subjects showed a subsequent increase not only in levels of Serotonin, but also norepinephrine, dopamine and beta-endorphins.

Thus, by listening repeatedly to depression sessions you not only will get quick relieve from depression but also the results will be sustained in the long term. In summary, your brain can learn how to work without depression.

In Mentallion.com you can find a set of FREE online therapies for depression in several flavors, with or without music. The link is:

http://www.mentallion.com/search.action?keyword=depression

Because this session presents separate stimulation to each brain hemisphere, headphones are required. It is important to make sure that your headphones are on correctly, with the right side on your right ear, and left side on your left ear.

Good luck.

Mentallion.com

Pd

Please share this message with someone may need

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New startup makes available free online therapies to treat common afflictions

To help people face stress, depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, insomnia and other 30 common afflictions in the comfort of your home or office, Mentallion.com has unleashed a line of free basic online therapies based on sounds and music supported by brainwave entrainment technologies.

Lima, Pe (XXX) Jun 27, 2009 --

A new startup, Mentallion.com, has unleashed proven, inexpensive, unintrusive, and mostly unknown technology to cope with common afflictions such as such as migraine, depression, and stress, as well as special sessions to strengthen mental skills, such as creativity, concentration, and IQ, among other 30 therapies.

By harnessing the power of brainwave entrainment, Mentallion.com has unleashed a powerful online tool to relief and enhance the mind. Based on 70 years of scientific research, brainwave entrainment uses sounds known as binaural beats to alter the brainwave frequencies of the brain to induce desired state of mind. For example, a listener can fall asleep, meditate, inspire creativity, or cultivate focus, by listening any of the 30 online therapies and effectively entraining the brain.

In addition, to enrich the experience of “taking the bitter medicine”, In Mentallion.com, you can find over 300 remixes of music and binaural beats with a variety of music genres, inlcuding new age, electronic music, rock, and many others.

Brainwave entrainment, or BWE, first documented by Ptolemy, is used clinically since the late 1800s. It is now experiencing a renaissance among neurologists and mental health professionals, driven in part by recent research findings.

In a recent issue of the journal Alternative Therapies, Dr. Tina L. Huang and Dr. Christine Charyton concluded: "Findings to date suggest that brainwave entrainment is an effective therapeutic tool. People suffering from cognitive functioning deficits, stress, pain, headache/migraines, PMS, and behavioral problems benefited from brainwave entrainment." ('A Comprehensive View of the Psychological Effects of Brainwave Entrainment', Alternative Therapies, September/October 2008)

Mentallion.com offers free basic online therapies in sessions of 10 to 15 minutes, that is the minimal time to get the effects. For longer treatments, there are a rich offering of one hour sessions with affordable prices.

Here is what listeners are saying about the Mentallion.com brainwave entrainment line:


* "I found that I could use different sessions at different times of the day in order to get ready for a busy day, relax after work and fall asleep at night, or even to get concentration or inspiration." -- Felipe Bruno
* "I found the Hypertension and Stress sessions to be the best to complement my high blood pressure treatment to the point that I have been able to reduce the amount of medication required." -- John Rieddle


List of therapies and music genres:

Healing sessions:
- Addiction reduction
- Anxiety reduction
- Depression reduction
- Pain relief
- Migraine relief
- Healing
- Hypertension - blood pressure
- Insomnia help
- Pre-menstrual session
- Insonmaniac killer
- Stress relief
- Super nap

Power sessions
- Alertness session
- Athletic performance
- Concentration focus
- Creative focus
- Creative brainstorming
- Motivation
- Out the body experience & altered mind states
- IQ comprehensive
- IQ focus
- Before exam/speech session
- Visualization and Law of attraction
- Sex performance

Music genres:
- Trance (excellent for concentration and creativity)
- Rock-pop
- New-age
- Classical
- Jazz
- Gregorian
- Natural sounds

For more information on the brainwave entrainment line of Mentallion.com, including articles, videos and the sounds and music, click on: http://www.mentallion.com

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The use of Breainwave Entrainment (BE) for Hypertension Treatment

Introduction

Hypertension is a life-threatening condition that affects over 60 million North American adults. A variety of drugs are used to treat it, primarily by causing vascular dilatation or decreasing sympathetic arousal. These drugs produce a myriad of troubling side effects and yet cost the average American about $800 per year for medications. Lifestyle changes, particularly improvements in diet, reduce systolic pressure by 5 points (mmHg) and diastolic pressure by 2 points (mmHg). Most single hypertension drugs reduce systolic pressure by 11 points and diastolic pressure by 8.5 points. (Figure 1). Combining various hypertension drugs decreases systolic blood pressure by an average of 18 points and diastolic by 12 points, with increased medication related side effects.

Method

All of the participants (n=28) in this 8-week study received "placebo", sub-delta frequency (0.5 - 1 Hz) stimulation for one month followed by one month of alpha frequency (7.8 - 10 Hz) stimulation. All participants were taking hypertensive drugs during the study. Blood pressure measurements were recorded weekly. Both the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used in the analysis.

Results

Alpha frequency audio-visual entrainment (AVE) has shown strong effectiveness in reducing depression and anxiety. However, the group was neither depressed (Beck=7.4) nor anxious (STAI=34) so the benefits of alpha AVE were uncertain. Surprisingly, the sub-delta AVE had marked effects on blood pressure reducing the systolic 20 points (166 - 146) and the diastolic 15 points (96 - 81), see Figure 1. (Interestingly, sub-delta AVE has also produced unexpectedly good improvements in many people with fibromyalgia). It is possible that the sub-delta AVE used in this study directly impacted physiological functions rather than psychological ones.

The participants also showed an unexpected marked increase of 14 points (146 - 160) in systolic pressure and a seven point (81 - 88) increase in diastolic pressure simply from increasing the AVE frequency to alpha during the fifth week of the study. Because there was essentially no change in anxiety nor depression, this unusual increase in blood pressure may indicate a well established conditioned response, known as white-coat syndrome, where they increase their blood pressure in accordance with novel (state arousing) experiences.

Conclusion

Sub-delta stimulation reduced high blood pressure more than when using a combination of hypertension meds. Alpha AVE was not as effective as sub-delta AVE partly because alpha AVE was introduced in the second month of the study and some hypertension had already been reduced. Also, alpha AVE is particularly effective in treating anxiety and depression, which were not factors in this study.

Notes:

b>

• Figures omitted


• In mentallion.com you can find examples of depression reduction sessions reduction sessions based on brainwave entrainment ready to be used.
  
  

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Brainwave Entrainment (BE) as a Treatment Modality for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Problem

Each year, 6% of northern populations are affected with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Women through the ages of 20 to 40 are most vulnerable (Rosenthal, 1993). The common symptoms are slow brainwave activity, depression, anxiety, extreme fatigue, hypersomnia, carbohydrate cravings, and weight gain. "Light box" therapy has reduced symptoms of SAD in 60% to 80% of SAD patients (Lam, 1999). The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Audio-Visual Entrainment (BE) using flashing lights and pulsing tones to lower SAD symptoms through beta brainwave enhancement.

Method

The Digital Audio-Visual Integration Device (DAVID) by Comptronic Devices Limited was used in a 4-week study to reduce the symptoms of SAD through the application of BE. The participants were screened according to the DSM-lV SAD requirements. The study accepted participants from November 1998 to March 1999. The participants were residents of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, living at approximately 53.5 B north latitude.

Procedure

Seventy-four participants were randomly selected in the study. The study involved 52 females and 22 males, the group averaging 38.5 years of age. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) were used for the pre-test, post-test (placebo), and the post-post-test (treatment) results. A daily diary was maintained to record total sleep time, sociability at work and with the family, eating, appetite, carbohydrate intake, cravings, and energy.

The participants were divided into two groups: a Control Group that did not receive the DAVID BE unit and the Treatment Group that received "placebo" and treatment sessions. The Treatment Group received sub-delta (placebo) frequencies of 1 Hz for 2 weeks followed by beta frequencies (treatment sessions) of 20 Hz for 2 weeks. Fifty-eight treatment participants and 16 control participants finished the study. The paired t-tests were used in the within group measurements, and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used in the between group measurements.

The results indicated the pretest BDI score for both groups was 20.1. A score above 9.0 indicates mild depression. Depression within the Control Group increased by 28% to a score of 26.1 as indicated on the BDI. Reduction in symptoms of depression occurred with 36% of the participants in the placebo (post) group. In the treatment (beta) group, 100% of the participants had reduced depression (BDI=7.3, p<0.001). style="font-weight: bold;">

Conclusion

The beta frequencies generated by the DAVID BE device produced significant results. Although past research indicates sub-delta frequencies are non-effective at generating entrainment, sub-delta frequencies can affect both dissociative mind states and cerebral blood flow. In addition, the "placebo effect" could also explain the sub-delta significance. The "placebo effect" has been shown to reduce anxiety, increase endorphin production, conditioning, and expectancy (Godfroid, 1998). Being that inadequate light elicits depression in SAD sufferers, the "placebo effect" via photic stimulation is possible.

The BE Group's depression decreased while the Control Group's depression increased. Anxiety, a secondary symptom of SAD, decreased in both male and female BE groups. Although the female control participants decreased anxiety, the female BE population was significant using the 1 Hz and 20 Hz stimulation.

The daily diary results showed decreased over-eating, appetite, and carbohydrate intake while energy levels increased. By using BE, some participants lost considerable weight. Twelve participants (8 females and 4 males) recorded their average weight loss of 3 pounds (1.36 Kg) using the 1 Hz session and an average weight loss of 9.5 pounds (4.3 Kg). These same participants claim their average weight gain during the winter months is 15 pounds. Therefore, one benefit from using BE is weight loss. One participant claimed, "after using the 20 Hz session for 2 weeks, the taste of sweets in my mouth was repulsive." Follow-up reports indicate participants' SAD symptoms returned within an average of 2 weeks after discontinuing use of the DAVID BE device. Most Control participants claimed that they gained weight.

From:
The Rediscovery of Audio-Visual Entrainment" von Dave Siever, Copyright 1997.

Notes:

• Figures omitted


• In mentallion.com you can find Exapmles of depression reduction sessions based on brainwave entrainment ready to be used.
  

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