Have you ever stopped to consider your habits and daily routines? 

Good or bad, we all have them.

Habits can become monotonous and repetitive, making them difficult to break.

The brain is wired to reinforce habits, making it challenging to change and create new ones.

Changing habits requires consistent effort and perseverance, as well as a willingness to step outside of one’s comfort zone.

There are many factors that keep us stuck in the comfort zone of our lives, especially with all the world changes since the pandemic.

Many people feel the need to control as much as they can. And many feel that their comfort zone habits take them out of their loneliness and despair. 

But is that really true? 

The very same comforts we love can actually keep us from being inspired to move forwards in our lives..  The brain doesn’t quite know the difference.

Our brains are wired to follow familiar patterns so the question becomes, how can one begin to break their cycles?

Sometimes, all it takes is a small shift of energy to begin to break the habit. My experience shows that replacing one habit with something new and better can make it easier.

For example, switching from non-stop tv watching to listening to music can be a fun and inspiring action to take if you suffer from going to sleep at night.

I confess.  This was my habit.

I had gotten myself into a pattern of binge-watching TV series.  Not just one episode but the entire series at night before bed.  And then that snowballed into not being able to turn out the lights. And then that started to affect the amount of sleep I was getting. And then that started to accumulate excess stress because I was tired.

Woah.

Put on the breaks!

I knew I needed to change it up.  

My morning routine was even starting to be affected, and I love my mornings.

So I decided it was time to turn off the TV and find another way to end my day.

Listening to music can immediately switch the brain. Think about your favorite song, and immediately you are transported to another place and time. Now, I’m not suggesting you listen to your favorite Southern rock music if trying to go to sleep, but music has many healing sounds that can help calm the brain and induce relaxation.

Music is a Healing Arts modality. When we break down music into sound and beats, we remember that sound is a vibration, a wave of energy.

As I began my search for calming music, I came across some artists I had not heard in a while. A very long while to be truthful. David and Steve Gordon. 

I had listened to their music back in the late 90s. Sacred Earth Drums.

But now they had expanded into a lot of different-sounding music and even had music for sleep with binaural beats

One of the latest discoveries that have come about is using binaural beats in music tracks.

With my sound background, right away I knew this music would help me. I began to play it at night and found I was able to unwind and sleep so much better.

What are binaural beats?

According to SleepFoundation.org, a go-to source for trustworthy sleep information, binaural beats are a perception of sound created by your brain. If you listen to two tones, each at a different frequency and each in a different ear, your brain creates an additional tone you can hear.

This third tone is called a binaural beat. You hear it at the frequency difference between the two tones. When each ear hears a tone at a slightly different frequency, your brain tries to compensate by creating the beat that puts the sounds together.

The National Institute of Health states that Binaural beats are generated when the sine waves within a close range are presented to each ear separately. For example, when the 400 Hz tone is presented to the left ear and the 440 Hz tone to the right, a beat of 40 Hz is perceived, which appears subjectively to be located “inside” the head.

How do binaural beats work?

Binaural beats work by playing two slightly different frequency tones in the right and left ear, which creates the illusion of a single tone that fluctuates in amplitude. This can affect brain waves and potentially induce a relaxed or meditative state.   

Stress and anxiety keep the brain in a state of beta consciousness making it difficult to sleep. Whereas, shifting out of the beta state and into an alpha brain pattern creates a restful and peaceful mind.

Binaural beats can be created at different frequencies. Each frequency is associated with outcomes that correspond to different levels of brain wave activity.

Early research indicates that listening to binaural beats can reduce feelings of anxiety and improve your sleep. ( The National Center for Biotechnology Information)

What I discovered, and probably took for granted, was that David and Steve Gordon were noted pioneers of healing and meditation music.  Already known for bringing the sounds of nature into their music, they began experimenting with this concept of binaural music to go along with their ambient music. 

They connected to research scientist, Richard Merrill, from the SongRest Research Group to experiment with this concept. SongRest was able to help them take this concept even further. 

In most binaural beat music, you were required to wear earphones but through this research, Steve and David Gordon were able to come up with the technology so that no headphones were required. They noted that people were just too busy to sit still with the headphones and wanted a way for people to easily listen and relax.

This was exciting news for their music and for me as I was able to fall asleep easily and comfortably. No bulky headphones, no tossing, and turning, just zoning into the sounds of peace taking you right into sleep.

Changing up your daily rituals doesn’t have to be difficult, especially when you find ways to replace them with more effective methods.  Discovering new techniques can be rewarding for the mind, body, and spirit.

For more information on David and Steve Gordon, listen to The Empowered Spirit Show podcast here.