

This summer I spent a little time at the beach with my family. As I sat back watching the ocean, I spent some time thinking about sound. Sound is an important component to the BrainTap experience, but I’m sure many of you are wondering if sound really helps you relax and heal.
We know some sounds are soothing, like the ocean waves I was watching at the beach; while other sounds are jarring, like a traffic jam or sirens blaring around you. I think we all know which sounds we’d prefer to be listening to, but how do those soothing sounds affect our bodies?
Sound healing is a practice that uses vibrations such as those produced by gongs, singing bowls and tuning forks to relax the mind and body. Sound healers say the healing effects occur because the body relaxes and blood pressure is lowered, which improves circulation and respiratory rates. Sound healing has been used for centuries by cultures like the Aborigines in Australia and Tibetan monks. As you know, we at BrainTap are big proponents for anything that aids in relaxation, mindfulness and stress reduction, so maybe those cultures are on to something.
Sound therapy isn’t just about hearing sounds that are pleasant. Science has proven you can use different sound frequencies to hack your brainwaves and heal your body. By using certain rhythms, you can take your brain from beta to theta and even into delta where healing exists.
According to Dr. Mark Menolascino, an integrative and functional medical practitioner, “Everything in the universe has a vibrational frequency. We are hard-wired to have sound be part of us. In the brain, all our neurons fire at different frequencies based on the data they receive from things around us. These vibrations interact with every cell in your body.”