Are you ready to change your brainwave activity?

Are you feeling significantly anxious, overwhelmed, or stressed? 😥

If your answer is yes, then maybe it's time to change your brainwave activity! 🧠 Research has shown that listening to certain sounds can facilitate changes in your brainwave activity through audio stimulation (Brainwave entertainment) (Huang et al. 2008). Evidence from recent research demonstrates listening to natural sounds when you're feeling significant stress can help promote the feeling of relaxation and help you to return to your baseline (Gould van Praa et al. 2017). We are excited to announce we have now added a collection of calming nature escape sounds to our library for you to do some of your own audio therapy 👂.

👉 What is Audio Therapy? Audio therapy is a form of sensory therapy. It is the practice of listening to different sounds to help improve both your mental and physical health. Sounds can have a deep impact on our feelings and emotions. You may have noticed different sounds make you feel different reactions in your mind and body. An easy example is when you are exercising you might listen to your favourite upbeat music to keep you motivated, whereas when you are working you might opt for calmer, quieter background music to help boost concentration.

👉 How does it work? Brainwaves are rhythmic or repetitive patterns in your brain that are the result of the neurons within your brain communicating. We have five different widely recognised brain waves which include Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta. These operate on different frequencies, our brain is in a different state, and each has different characteristics:
🔷Gamma (γ) – Frequency: >35 Hz - State: Concentration 🔷Beta (β) - Frequency 12–35 Hz - State: Anxiety dominant, active, external attention, relaxed 🔷Alpha (α) - Frequency 8–12 Hz - State: Very relaxed, passive attention 🔷Theta (θ) - Frequency 4–8 Hz - State: Deeply relaxed, inward-focused 🔷Delta (δ) - Frequency 0.5–4 Hz - State: Sleep (Abhang et al. 2016) 👆 Alpha and Theta waves have been shown useful in reducing symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder (Dadashi et al. 2015) and reducing depressive symptoms (Alexander et al. 2019). 👁 Visualising the environment of the sound you are listening to can also be beneficial. Visualisation is a well-documented, powerful tool for relieving the feeling of anxiety (Nguyen and Brymer 2018). It helps to focus your attention on the serenity and calmness of the environmental sound you are listening to. It could also help you activate your other senses and enable you to really immerse yourself in the experience.

👉 Why nature sounds? 🍃

We are increasingly disconnected from nature (Frumkin et al. 2017). Many of us spend the majority of our time at home, at work, or commuting to and from work (often in a car or public transport). Depending on where you live and work, you may not be able to see any signs of nature from your window. Then in your free time, you might feel too tired to go outside and just want to relax in the comfort of your own home. When you are experiencing a decline in your mental health it can also be difficult to feel motivated to be outdoors. Additionally, it may feel like hard work to be out in nature in the cold winter months.

But the health benefits of exposure to nature are well documented✅. A study of 20,000 people has reported that people who spent two hours per week in nature were significantly more likely to report high well-being and good health than those who didn’t spend time in nature (White et al. 2019). Alternative research with patients in a psychiatric hospital also reported that exposure to nature and sensory stimulation through gardening helped provide a temporary distraction from negative thoughts, reduce feelings of isolation, create calmness and resulted in improved mood (Pieters et al. 2018). 🌱🌿

Originally, humans lived out in nature and often by running water💧. But, how many of us live now we aren’t able to live like our ancestors. Listening to nature sounds is a great way for us to have some exposure to nature and get back to our roots🌳.

Previously, we have discussed the importance of you building a toolbox of different practices and resources that you can use in your everyday life to help you not only manage but to improve your mental well-being🙌. So far, we have explored tools such as guided meditation, journaling, yoga, and progressive muscle relaxation. These are all excellent practices you can add to your toolbox. But, building your toolbox is all about discovering what works for you as an individual. What works for one person may not yield the same results for another. Audio Therapy is another excellent tool you can explore and see if it is suitable to add to your toolbox and incorporate into your life 🧰.

🤗 It can feel difficult to know where to start, especially if you’re already experiencing difficulties with your mental health. Here at Happio, we want to provide you with the knowledge and tools you need so you can thrive. Check out our new collection of calming nature sounds and let us know how you find listening to them! 🤗