Understanding the brain has been a great mystery for the scientific and medical industry for many years however modern technological advancements are slowly helping to unwrap the riddle. Look at some of the advancements sports leagues have made on concussions and the advancements that medical professionals have discovered regarding early childhood brain development, it’s clear that progress is starting to happen with how we understand how the brain works and how we can improve.
One area of the brain/research that is rapidly evolving is the area of neurotechnology. This involves computers, programs or devices interacting with the brain to provide a certain output, reading or connection with the brain for tracking, training or elevating output. Examples of this include EEG headsets or in the case of this article neuromodulation (via audio), namely via the patented audios of Brain.fm.
For those who are looking to improve their performance, mental focus or output, audio neuromodulation could be for you. Aside from enabling you to get to a peak state, quality audio neuromodulation also has the ability to take you into a relaxed or meditative state to allow you to get into a relaxing state if your job tends to be stressful or if you have been in a stressful environment. Brain.fm does all this and a lot more as we will discuss further. We’ve also written the ultimate brain.fm guide for additional reading.
What is Brain.fm?
Brain.fm is a non-invasive audio brain stimulation neurotech app based on patented audios created by Adam Hewett (neuroscientist and music engineer) as a result of his background in brain stimulation techniques and music. The aim of Brain.fm is to use its purpose built functional music to guide your brain into your desired mental state.
This could be selecting specific music to get you into a focused state or to select music that will get you into a more relaxed state. You might have a looming deadline for a project at work or an assignment at college and need to focus to finish this, Brain.fm is great to get you into that desired focused state to help you finish the project or assignment.
Alternatively you may have had an intense day at work and would like to relax and unwind you would use Brain FM for a selected period of time and close your eyes and relax.
Initially Brain.fm started out with music to help people get into the focused state however the product evolved to incorporate music that targets relaxation and deep sleep areas.
Brain.fm (also the beneficiary of funding from the National Science Foundation to explore functional music and brain output) has over 15 years of research and development with constant EEG testing (the process of placing sensors on someone’s head to measure electrical currents produced by brain activity in real-time (in response to lights, sounds, etc.)) and behavioural studies to improve their product to continue to provide a market leading product in the audio neuromodulation space.
Is Brain.fm a form of binaural beats?
Now some of you who have a bit of an understanding of this area might be thinking that Brain.fm is just another way of selling binaural beats however this isn’t the case. Binaural beats are essentially auditory illusions, sounds that come in at a different frequency in each with the end result being your brain is forced to compensate with a binaural beat which is the difference or middle ground of the two separate ear sound frequencies.
Brain.fm audios on the other hand have no “gap” nor is the brain forced to create this missing “beat”, all audio is as one and your brain processes this accordingly, allowing it to seamlessly shift into the desired brain state needed for a particularly task or setting.
The Brain.fm website delves into the differences between their product and binaural beats further, “Binaural beats produce weak or absent neural synchrony while modulation applied directly in each stereo channel (rather than arising from different signals to the two ears) has much stronger effects on brain activity. We use this (‘non-binaural’) modulation, but this is just one of many techniques to help people reach mental states. Other examples: our sleep music uses 3D effects to produce relaxing motion (‘rocking’), and our focus music removes sound events that would grab your attention (‘salience reduction’).”
Essentially those of you looking for help to become more focused or for help to unwind or relax, Brain.fm is the solution for you.
To access Brain.fm for a 20% discount visit brain.fm and sign up using the coupon code: yourgoalsyourlife
What is the technology behind Brain.fm?
The brain typically operates between the following five states Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta and Gamma. The Delta state is typically associated with deep sleep and the brain waves get more and more active all the way through to Gamma which is indicative of a high concentration state.
As you would think the Delta waves are the slower moving waves (hence their presence for deep sleep) through to the fastest waves in Gamma which is the wave state you are typically in for higher focused activities.
Given the high pressure world we live in sometimes our brains need a bit of a boost to move into a desired wave state depending on what you are looking to achieve.
Brain FM’s proprietary use of music can get you in and out of these desired brain waves by using “Neural Phase Locking” to move your brain into your desired state.
Brain.fm further describes the process of Neural Phase Locking works “If you’re a living, breathing human being, your neural activity is oscillating at various rates all day long. (Neural oscillations, by the way, refer to rhythmic brain activity produced by a group of neurons firing in a similar pattern.) Depending on what you’re doing, whether that’s
studying for a big test, sleeping, or finally putting your feet up after a long day’s work, the rhythmic activity in your brain tends to move at different speeds.
While research on brain entrainment had already been conducted (and validated before Brain.fm came on the scene), it was being done with simple boring sounds like tones or beeps. There had not been any controlled studies on applying entrainment to complex music to influence the brain’s neural oscillations to a desired mental state.
That’s where Brain.fm came in. Through our research, we were able to design a music production technology that applies entrainment to music in a way that induces strong neural phase locking. In fact, this technology was so effective at inducing NPL, we had it patented.
Our technology allows us to adjust an acoustic component called modulation rate, the speed of the entraining rhythmic pulse applied to the background of our music. Without getting too granular, we’ve listed the ranges of modulation rates that correspond to each one of our desired cognitive states.
Mental State
Modulation Rate
Sleep
Delta Waves / .25 – 1Hz
Meditation
Theta Waves / 4-8Hz
Relax
Alpha Waves / 6-10Hz
Focus
High Alpha & Beta Waves / 12 – 20Hz
What makes Brain.fm different?
From Brain.fm “While Neural Phase Locking might be our crown jewel, that’s only one of the many glimmering elements that make up the multifaceted core of Brain.fm’s technology today. In this section, we’ll go through the different features that elevate us from all other “focus music” on the market.
Neural Phase Locking
Our patented AI technology syncs (and locks) your neurons (via rhythmic patterns embedded in the music) into a desired mental state (focused, relaxed, meditative, etc.)
3D Spatialization
This feature creates the illusion that music is coming from the space around you. We use this to rock you to sleep at night, or to focus your attention right where it needs to be.
Salience Reduction
We’ve designed our music to safeguard from any distractions, producing tracks free of gaps, breaks, sharp changes, or any abrupt instrumental additions that might unnecessarily distract you. The goal is to smooth out the mental noise happening in your head!
Music For Humans By Humans
Our music sounds like music because it’s brilliantly composed by, you guessed it, humans. Not just any humans, though… We have talented in-house musicians who craft the musical aspects of our sound (e.g., melodies, chord progressions, instrumental variety, and so forth) that make your brain’s favorite tracks, all before the technological components are added on.”
How Brain FM can help you?
As mentioned previously, the main benefit of Brain.fm is it’s ease of allowing you to move between brain states depending on the activity or task you are looking at achieving. This could be something that requires focus such as a project or an assignment or it could be allowing you to get into a relaxing mindset to ease a hard days work.
With their different target areas for the brain’s state, i.e. Focus or Relaxation, Brain.fm is the ideal product to help you achieve at a higher level or relax at a deeper level.
The Brain.fm app homepage interface is very easy to use and is broken down into 4 main areas, these include:
Focus, Relax, Sleep and Meditate
*Note there are also a couple of shortcuts at the top of the app such as 90 minute focus or 15 minute recharge options.
Under the Focus section
You have 4 options, Deep Work, Creative Flow, Study & Read and Light Work while at the top of this page there is the option to change the time you wish to have the audio play for (our default was 90 minutes). Once you select the type of focus you desire put in the headphones (or connect to a Bluetooth speaker), the Brain.fm app will randomly select audio
that is under the focus section and then you can start your work! Should you not like the selection the app provided you can skip the track and go to another by pressing the forward button (next to the play/pause button).
Alternatively you can go to the bottom of the app to the library section and navigate to the focus area if there is a particular piece of music you have enjoyed previously (all songs are named).
Under the Relax section
You also have 4 options, Chill, Recharge, Destress and Unwind while at the top of this page there is the option to change the time you wish to have the audio play for (our default was 15 minutes). Once you select the type of relaxation you desire put in the headphones (or connect to a Bluetooth speaker), the Brain.fm app will randomly select audio that is under the relax section and then you can start relaxing! Again, should you not like the selection the app provided you can skip the track and go to another by pressing the forward button (next to the play/pause button).
Alternatively you can go to the bottom of the app to the library section and navigate to the relax area if there is a particular piece of music you have enjoyed previously (all songs are named).
Under the Sleep section
If you wish to use one of the sleep options you want to have a Bluetooth speaker connected to your phone or device (unless you can sleep with headphones in your ears) to allow the full benefits of this area.
With the sleep section, you also have 4 options, Deep Sleep, Guided Sleep, Sleep & Wake and Wind Down. Similar to the other sections at the top of this page there is the option to change the time you wish to have the audio play for (our default was 8 hours). Once you select the type of sleep mode you desire connect to or turn on the Bluetooth speaker and the Brain.fm audio will kick in.
For those who have trouble sleeping this Sleep section is a great option that can help you get into the right space to sleep. There is even a guided sleep option similar to the guided meditation option we discuss below.
Note there is only one option under each of the Sleep areas.
Under the Meditation section
If you wish to use the guided or unguided meditation options you want to have a Bluetooth speaker connected to your phone or device (unless you prefer to meditate with headphones in your ears) to allow the full benefits of this area.
With the meditate section, you also 2 options, unguided and guided meditation. Similar to the other sections at the top of this page there is the option to change the time you wish to have the audio play for (our default was 15 minutes). Once you select the type of meditation option you desire either use your headphones or connect to/turn on the Bluetooth speaker and the Brain.fm meditation audio will kick in.
Note there is only one option under the guided and unguided Meditation areas.
The bottom of the homepage interface has a home page option, library option, explore option and your account information.
The Library Section lists all of the music in the app under the four areas (Focus, Relax, Sleep and Meditate).
The Explore option allows you to listen to music with specific sounds such as rain, the beach, rainforest, electronic and thunder just to name a few. It is an excellent addition to the music under the existing four options.
The great thing about Brain FM is that it was created with everyday activities in mind. Whether it’s a focus boost at work or with your studies or whether you use it to unwind after a stressful day, Brain FM is a top quality product that will help most people.
How much does Brain.fm cost?
Brain FM offers two pricing options, monthly or annually. The monthly price is $6.99 and the annual price is $49.99 (both options are very well priced for the quality product Brain.fm is).
Both options give you unlimited access to the Brain FM Library.
Brain FM comes with a free 72 hour full access trial which you can take up once you download the app to your favourite device.
The Brain.fm app can be found on all major app or web stores or visit the website brain.fm.
To access Brain.fm for a 20% discount visit brain.fm and sign up using the coupon code: yourgoalsyourlife
Our experience with Brain.fm
To be honest we weren’t expecting a lot after we purchased Brain.fm. Having spent a bit of money in the self improvement area and being underwhelmed with a lot of products we jumped into the Brain.fm experience with some low expectations. To say we were impressed was an understatement.
We were blown away by Brain.fm!
The main aim we were looking to get out of Brain.fm was for improvement with focus and it didn’t let us down. Not that we did a dedicated experiment to determine the exact gain we got from using Brain.fm however we noticed our levels of focus increased in a big way when using Brain.fm. Now this was our experience and it may be a different experience for others however we are big fans!
Even using one of the relaxation options exceeded our expectations. Now we can’t wait to unwind by reading a book and listening to one of the Brain.fm relaxation audios.
Brain.fm has 4 main categories, focus, relax, sleep and meditate and all audios come under those categories. You can also access the full library directly to use one of your favourite tracks or you can use the explore option to delve deeper into the Brain FM offerings.
Once you’ve selected the state you are looking to enter you are then asked to select the time frame you wish to be in that wave state for. The shortest amount is 15 minutes whilst you can opt for the infinity option should you wish to keep a track or focus for as long as you take to finish your task.
We have had Brain.fm for several months now and we are amazed with the results. Output on high focus tasks has increased substantially and even more exciting when needing to switch off an relax after these high intensity periods intensity the relaxation modes really work!
Our favourites for focus activities state were the Super Alloy and the Beyond Depths options, while in the relaxing and unwinding phase we loved the Into the Caves and Space Travel.
Brain.fm FM comes highly recommended as a result of our initial use (this article was 100% written under the influence of Brain FM) and we recommend you listen to Brain.fm under their trial option. We will be very surprised if you don’t get something out of the use of Brain FM and we think it is well worth the annual price of $49.99 (or the $6.99 monthly price) (all in USD).
The increase in output when we put on the deep focus mode has been substantial as has been the ability to relax when using one of the relax options (chill, recharge, de-stress or unwind options) after a hard days work. The relaxation mode works really well as part of a nightly sleep routine (maybe reading a book whilst listening to Brain.fm in the relax mode) and we have noticed our sleep has improved when using Brain.fm at night under one of the relax options.
Overall we were very impressed with Brain.fm and will recommend this to anyone (though if you have had any head injuries or health issues such as a concussion or epilepsy, please consult your doctor). For more information regarding brain.fm check out our ultimate brain.fm guide or visit the brain.fm website.
To access Brain.fm for a 20% discount visit brain.fm and sign up using the coupon code: yourgoalsyourlife