Binaural Beats is one of the latest trending alternative therapy methods. Rather than buying rocks or drinking tea, with binaural beats all you have to do is just connect a set of headphones to your phone, look up a video on YouTube, and lay down. Because they promote deep sleep and relaxation, they usually feature warnings for the user not to drive or operate heavy machinery while listening. The specific purpose or result varies as much as crystals do in their respective healing properties. You can read users’ comments and reviews on the YouTube videos, or you can make it easier on yourself and observe my test of the binaural beats.
With Hurricane Fiona passing by and giving us flashbacks to Hurricane Maria, psychological services have been halted. For this reason, dealing with my symptoms of anxiousness, stress, agitation, and insomnia is my main reason to listen to binaural beats.
For one week, I will be testing out binaural beats. Every day, I will write a morning entry and a post-binaural beats entry. The goal here is to test out a new healing method that’s known for its capacity to remove negative energy, which I believe is a pretty universal concept.
Let’s help ourselves!
Day 1- September 18
The hurricane or storm, I’m not sure which, is passing through. I only hear heavy rain. I began writing in the late afternoon because it is when I realized that I should write my thoughts down. I feel disconnected from my own stress. I am just laying around, but I don’t feel relaxed. I don’t hear the scary winds of the hurricane, but I dread its aftermath anyways.
I’m lying in bed. The storm/hurricane is billowing at my window while I listen to binaural beats. I feel like the music has faded a lot of my intrusive thoughts, as if I just meditated. I want to sleep, but it takes longer than I anticipated to finally fall asleep.
Day 2- September 19
I couldn’t sleep for hours last night. When I finally managed to, I was stuck between dreaming and barely being awake. Fiona is still passing outside my house, but it’s not nearly as bad as we thought. No sign of serious damages so far. My parents even hang out outside. I stay inside to find some peace of mind. The tension that connects my neck and shoulders is strong, like a very secure chain. I will go outside a bit later. I feel the tension in my upper body and nausea in my stomach. Both the storm and my disturbing sleep/dream pattern have made me feel uneasy.
I am once again lying in my bed, listening to binaural beats again. I feel lighter. After a while, I realize that it’s made me feel a lot calmer. I don’t dread anything right now, which is odd.
Day 3- September 20
I had trouble sleeping again, but my dreams didn’t wake me up over and over again. I had a weird dream, but I can’t remember what it was. I just remember waking up and being confused. My parents have been watching the news for hours in the living room. The couch on the side is my couch, where I have been stuck since Fiona began. The noises are stressing me out and I feel like I will explode any second.
I sit at the desk in my room. I decided to listen to it while completing my homework. It might be strange, but I felt focusedー as if I had to hurry to finish my homework before I fell asleep. The binaural beats don’t force me to sleep, but they do make me feel a bit groggy.
Day 4- September 21
I couldn’t sleep well. I’m pretty much convinced that it was the worst night of my life. I believe it may be a reaction from the storm rather than the binaural beats, considering I’d slept pretty badly that night before the first day of the challenge. My parents keep watching the news or the government talking about Fiona, and I stubbornly sit on the couch. I will force myself to leave because I’m sick of listening to it. I can’t wait to listen to the binaural beats.
I’m relaxed, but I have an urge to draw. My mind is blank, though, so I just draw scribbles. It feels pointless, but in a fun way.
Day 5- September 22
I slept better. I woke up and picked up a book that had been waiting for me and read a dozen pages. I decided that I’ll read that book daily for the time being. I exercised a little, so I feel content but tired.
I can only do binaural beats for five minutes because I’m very sleepy. By the time I turn it off, I’m going to bed.
Day 6- September 23
I am agitated and don’t really want to do anything. I did manage to exercise and read a little, though, so this day hasn’t been a complete waste of time. I’m grateful but also stressed that my university has given us the week off. I will go to work the next day, so that means that I have to go to sleep early. I’m restless, so I’m going to window shop online.
I’m clear-headed and I don’t feel sleepy like I usually would. I’ll use the phone until I fall asleep. I’m not sure how that’ll work out exactly, considering my current restlessness.
Day 7- September 24
Fiona is long gone, but the power plant roars on. I’m beginning to notice its noise rather than having it be part of the background. I get agitated by its sound, but it is what we need. The water is here, at least, so I can bathe and wash my teeth with cleaner water rather than the water caught by the cistern. I had the most confusing two dreams that played together like an anthology. I just want to sleep. It’s my final day of the challenge, but I don’t think I have gained much benefits from it.
It was my final listening to the binaural beats, so I felt a sense of accomplishment accompanied by a light sadness. I feel restless with an urge to cuddle with my plushies. Thoughts are cleared, but the undercurrent of feelings and hidden thoughts are still there.
This has been my experience in the Binaural Beats Challenge. I do believe that it helped in lessening intrusive thoughts and in achieving some clear-headedness. But I definitely think that it should not replace therapy and psychiatric medication. Instead, I believe it might be beneficial as a complementary aid to other treatments. Final verdict: If you want the benefits of meditation along some peaceful music, binaural beats are a good tool, albeit a very small one.