What is brainwave entrainment, and how does SleepTracks work?
What are brainwaves?
Here's a quick overview.
The brain is made up of billions of brain cells called neurons, that communicate with each other using electrical signals.
This electrical activity is measurable with an EEG (electroencephalograph) and follow patterns we can recognize. We call them "brainwave patterns" because this electrical activity has a wavelike appearance.
Scientists have found that different brainwave "frequencies" are associated with different mental states. For example, your brainwaves while you sleep are very different than when you're wide awake. Using an EEG machine, sleep researchers can tell precisely when someone is sleeping lightly, then deeply, and when he's dreaming.
Here you can see a dynamic example of someone's brain activity. The lines at the top represent very high-frequency waves (showing mental activity), and the ones at the bottom represents slow-frequency wave activity (more pronounced during sleep and deep meditative states). In this example, the person is meditating.
What's in it for you? Well, years of research have shown that brainwaves can also be stimulated to actually change a person's current state. This is what brainwave entrainment is all about — more on that below.
What is Brainwave Entrainment, and How Do the Sleep Tracks Work?
The Sleep Tracks are designed to influence the electrical activity going on in your brain in the form of brainwaves. It's meant to "entrain" them. How so?
By the same process that's been used by humans for thousands of years to generate altered states and trances: by using rhythm. If you listen to a rhythmic sound for awhile — it could be anything, a drum beating at 5 beats per second for example — and concentrate on it, something will change inside of you. After a couple minutes your brain will start to sync itself to the rhythm, and generate more brainwaves that will vibrate at the same rate per second as the sound you hear. Your brain will mimic the wave of the repeating sound.
Here's an example. These images show in 3D the electrical activity in somebody's brain, as measured by an electroencephalograph (it's just another way to render the same thing as the other graph I showed you).
On the left is a snapshot of what goes on in that brain before the experiment. On the right, you can see what happens if we expose that person to a sound pulsating at 10 beats per second. After just 6 minutes, the brain picked up on the 10 beats per second pulse and started to produce much more brainwaves in the same range.
The Sleep Tracks work the exact same way to gently guide your brain into producing more of certain types of brainwaves and less of others. You just listen and let your brain ride the Sleep Tracks wave! The pulses are barely audible, but if you listen closely you'll hear them. As the session progresses, the speed and pitch of these pulses change progressively, guiding your brain along.
No Need To Use Them Forever
And this influence is not limited to the moment you listen to the track. If you keep listening to a particular session, after awhile — say a month — your brain will "get it", so to speak, and generate more abundantly those brainwaves it has been entrained to produce, even if you stop listening to the session.
This is why carefully crafted brainwave entrainment sessions can have a lasting effect on your sleep. Once the brain is trained, the job is done. New neural pathways have been created.
What that means for you is that you won't have to listen to the Sleep Tracks forever to benefit from them. Contrary to what would happen with sleeping pills, after a month or two, maybe even less, you won't need them anymore. Your sleep problems will be a thing of the past.
The Science Behind Them
The science behind the Sleep Tracks and brainwave entrainment is very well documented and has been verified over and over.
Even though it's been around only since the 80's, today many doctors, professionals in the areas of psychology and neurology and institutional clinics rely on brainwave entrainment technology to train, empower and treat people for a wide variety of issues — and it has proved particularly effective at combating insomnia and re-training the brain to sleep deeply and naturally.
Here are a few sleep-related scientific papers you can reference:
EEG correlates of sleep: Evidence for separate forebrain substrates. Brain Research, 6, 143-163. Sterman, M.B., Howe, R.C., and MacDonald, L.R.
Treating psychophysiologic insomnia with biofeedback. Arch Gen Psychiatry. ;38(7):752-8. Hauri, P.
The treatment of psychophysiologic insomnia with biofeedback: a replication study. Biofeedback Self Regul. (2):223-35. Hauri PJ, Percy L, Hellekson C, Hartmann E, Russ D
WARNING: Be Wary Of Panacea Merchants
You might have come across another site or two offering you the keys to the kingdom if you just buy their "amazing ultra mega advanced brainwave entrainment CD that'll put you to sleep in a flash". Even though most will use an older and less effective way of stimulating the brain (have you ever heard of "binaural beats"?), some might even use the same technology that SleepTracks does.
But as you know already, sleep disorders can have many causes and take many forms. And even if those merchants would like you to ignore it, one single brainwave entrainment session is NOT going to put an end to all kinds of insomnia.
I've done the research, and I know it won't. The hard truth is, there's no such thing as a panacea.
This is why the SleepTracks Sleep Optimization Program contains not one, not two, but three different sessions to make sure your personal sleep problem is addressed and taken care of.
Read the complete presentation
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I listen to the Sleep Tracks all night?
A: The Whole Night Track has been designed for this purpose. Program your CD or mp3 player to play on loop and you'll be set. Don't use the other tracks that way though.
Q: Can I listen to the Insomnia Buster while doing other things?
A: Not a good idea. The Wake Up! Track, yes, but not the others. For all the others you should be still and close your eyes - keeping your eyes open would be a very intense form of stimulus for your brain, and would diminish the results greatly.
Q: What happens if I miss a day or two?
A: Just do your best. Of course, if you start using something for two or three days and then stop, you'll have no way to experience its full effects. But skipping a day here and there is no big deal - you might even find you don't need it anymore!
Q: Is this just some sort of relaxation tape?
A: No. While most sessions contain very soothing background music, relaxation is only a kind of "side effect" of listening to the Sleep Tracks. And some sessions don't have this effect at all.
Q: Do the tracks contain any subliminal messages, reverse speech, or similar things?
A: No! The pulses are doing all the work, and you can hear them perfectly well. Besides, subliminal messages don't work. A marketing guy started the whole thing in 1957 with a fabricated study. Unfortunately, to this day it's still mentioned as proof of the effectiveness of subliminal messages. Several real studies since showed that subliminal tapes didn't even meet the minimal criteria for perception, and concluded that it's highly unlikely that they have any effect at all, much less a significant effect on behavior or thought patterns.
Q: How often will I have to listen to those Sleep Tracks?
A: Depends which one we're talking about, and for what use. Once a day is enough to train your brain with the Insomnia Buster. You probably won't need to use it anymore after one or two months, maybe less. The other tracks can be used on an "as needed" basis - but again, once your brain will be well conditioned you won't feel the need to use them much. You'll get more details in the Fast Start Guide.
Q: Does your program come with instructions?
A: Absolutely. You'll find all you need in the Fast Start Guide, and you'll find rich advice in the 2:15 multimedia course.
Q: Does it treat sleep apnea?
A: SleepTracks's doesn't pretend to "treat" anything. Read the disclaimer! The best is to try it and see what effects you get. The 100% Guarantee is there to protect you if you find it doesn't work well for you.
Q: Is it safe to order online?
A: Extremely safe if you buy from reputable sources. Clickbank sells our products - they are a trusted online retailer specializing in digitally delivered products. They serve over 10,000 online vendors. Their system is as secure as can be. Click here for more details.
Q: Is brainwave entrainment safe?
A: It's totally safe and health-promoting when used according to the guidelines. By using the Sleep Tracks you're just helping your brain to naturally enter a positive state . But don't listen to the tracks if:
You're epileptic
You're pregnant
You wear a pacemaker
You're prone to seizures
You're under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
Q: Do I need any special audio equipment?
A: You will need to transfer the mp3 files over to any mp3 player, or burn them onto a CD to listen to on any CD player. Equipment quality will not affect the results you get.
Q: Do I need to use headphones?
A: No you don't, except for the Power Nap Track, which is also used to block off distracting sounds. The Whole Night Track is best used without headphones - sleeping all night with a pair of headphones wouldn't be very pleasant :)
The Insomnia Buster and Fall Asleep Tracks can be used without headphones, but I recommend that you wear them as the effect will be more dynamic and the result stronger.
Q: Do you offer a tangible version of the SleepTracks package?
A: Yes. As explained on that page, customers can get the course on DVD and the Tracks on audio CDs for $5 plus shipping and handling each. But you need to purchase online first. The link is in the members' area.
Q: I'm over 60. Am I too old to get results?
A: Not at all. In Key #2 of the Optimal Sleep course, I explain why older people have sleep problems, and what they can do about it. You CAN regain quality sleep whatever your age.
Q: How quickly can I expect to see the results?
A: Everyone is different, so results may vary. Many people start to see changes in the first few days. But even though your brain will be conditioned from the very first day, you might not notice any change before a few weeks have elapsed. Training your brain is like exercise: if you exercise every day you'll see differences after some time.
Implementing the suggestions found in Optimal Sleep will also greatly accelerate your getting results.
Q: I take a lot of sleeping pills right now. Is it safe to use your program?
A: Sleeping pills are a poison you must absolutely remove from your life as soon as possible. Using the Sleep Tracks will help you regain sound sleep and transition smoothly to a drug-free life - but don't try to stop cold turkey; it could be dangerous. Reduce progressively while listening every night to the Sleep Tracks. What you'll learn in the Optimal Sleep course will also help you.
Q: Will I need to buy additional equipment or supplements?
A: No, you don't. SleepTracks is a complete solution.
Q: I've heard about binaural beats… Is this what SleepTracks is all about?
A: No. Binaural beats are the most used form of brainwave entrainment - this is what's used by most insomnia CDs out there. With binaural beats, a slightly different tone is presented into each ear. The tones then combine in the brain to form a pulse or beat.
Entrainment in the Sleep Tracks is produced by a more effective - and more recent - kind of stimuli called "isochronic tones". What are they?
An Isochronic tone is simply a rhytmic pulse which turns on and off at a specified rate per second. Studies have found that binaural beats are not as effective as isochronic tones because of how the brain processes the pulses. Because the tones turn off so quickly, they produce extremely strong responses in the brain, which leads to the most effective possible brainwave stimulation.
What's more, binaural beats require the use of headphones, and isochronic tones do not.
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