Baroque music i.e. music composed during the Baroque era (1600 -
1750) has been shown to have a calming effect on the brain. It is
generally the slow movements of such music which has this effect.
It
is believed to be it does this because the rhythm is around 60 beats
per minute which is similar to a resting heartrate. The brain 'entrains'
itself to rhythm. We have all noticed the tendency of our foot to tap
when we hear certain types of music. This is the brain buying into the
rhythm and going along with it.
We all have brainwaves which move at different frequencies depending
what we are doing or thinking. An EEG recording is similar to the more
familiar ECG for measuring the heart. With an EEG, however, the
electrodes are placed on the head.
This is a painless procedure.
The electrodes gives a readout of wiggly lines. These show the frequency
of the brainwaves produced in the different areas.
What do the different brainwave frequencies mean?
Brainwaves in a human vary from beta waves (which are upwards of 15
cycles per second) and appear very spiky, through alpha waves, theta
waves, and delta waves.
Most of the time we are awake and participating in everyday life we have beta waves.
When we are deeply asleep we have a high percentage of delta waves which are like a gently rolling ocean.
So as we fall asleep our brainwaves gradually slow through all the stages to delta. Then they move back up again as we wake.
When we dream we are usually in theta and then if this is just one dream period we then go deeper again. There is a diagram of this on the page that explains nightmares.
Alpha waves are the daytime magic ones, when we are awake.
It
is during alpha that we can access our unconscious thoughts. During
hypnosis the client goes into the alpha state so that their issues may
be accessed without the thinking and rationalising part of the brain
getting in the way.
It is thought that it is during our dreams when we sleep that we resolve issues of the day and that is done during theta.
Research in Bulgaria have found that slow Baroque music entrains the
brain into alpha waves. Studies have been done whereby such music, when
played in the background during lessons in junior school classrooms, has
a calming effect and enables children to concentrate on their lesson
far better.
I have sometimes given patients suffering from PTSD or
other severe anxieties which stopped them sleeping, or gave them
constant nightmares, a CD of Baroque music with the instruction to just
play it quietly in the background when they go to bed. In many cases
this has had a significant effect and has enabled them to sleep better,
often through the night, and to reduce the occurrence of nightmares.
To
feel the calming effect of this music you don't have to consciously
listen to it but to allow it to play softly in the background as you do
everyday tasks.
I have found some commercially available cds of
this music which are available to buy should you wish. The most famous
Baroque (1600-1760) composers are probably Bach, Vivaldi, Pachelbel,
Handel Telemann, Purcell, Scarlatti. It is the slow, largo, movements of
their works which are relevant here. There are few CDs available at
present which are made up exclusively of such tracks so you may have to
put together your own. Some of the tracks can be purchased individually
as mp3 downloads on Amazon and similar sites.
If you feel
inclined to listen to largo music combined with the sounds of nature,
then I can recommend the Solitudes series by Dan Gibson, which do just
that. There are two CDs of music by Pachelbel, Forever by the Sea and In
the Garden as well as Bach Forever by the Sea which incorporates his
music with the sounds of the ocean. Further details of these can be
found in my Amazon Store.
