Whenever I need to feel peaceful and calm, I always go and play some ambient music I find on YouTube and Spotify. As soon as this plays, I feel immensely relaxed, and all the bad feelings that have been collecting are slowly released. Ultimately, my mind and soul are cleansed, and I feel free. It takes me to a completely different world where I feel complete ease in my mind, thoughts, and actions. I have always wondered what exactly the music has that offers such a deep meditative state. 

There are many different kinds of music, for different needs. Rather than complete silence, ambient music has background music, which focuses more on tone and atmosphere. They all have different themes, which resonate and help you the most. The most common frequencies are Delta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma waves. These help your brain connect with the different waves that they are resonating with when they are in their utmost moments of relaxation. 

Shriya Anand Saikrishnan, a sophomore at AHS, uses white noise to help her breathe and sleep.

Having used this music in the past, Giselle Rivera, another sophomore, has found that it has helped clear her mind.

The benefits of this form of music are increased creativity, reduced anxiety, brighter mood, and improved sleep habits; it also improves memory, focus, and attention, increases relaxation, and helps reduce pain. Although everyone is affected by music differently, it helps everyone differently. You have to look out for whether it works for you. Everyone has their own preferences. While others may find them useful and helpful to use in their life, others may not like the way it sounds, or find it unnecessary. It’s finding what works for you, and what makes you feel the best. 

Sophomore Snigdha Boynipalli said, “the music makes me concentrate and helps me focus on what I am doing and forget about what’s happening in the background.”

Binaural beats, two tones with slightly different frequencies, are commonly incorporated into music. Your brain takes this in and it falls into place where the sounds are put together as one. The frequency is the difference of Hertz in both tones you’re hearing. Your brain activity ends up matching the beats of the music, which is called the frequency-following effect. This means that the binaural beats will take your brain to a particular mental state that is similar to when you are doing meditative practice. Binaural beats are connected with different waves that have different benefits. Listening to binaural beats for 30 minutes every day helps the beats fall into place and synchronize in your brain. Studies conducted on binaural beats tested the effectiveness of listening to the music and found that it was helpful. Although, there still isn’t enough knowledge to be fully confirmed. 

When listening to ambient music, it’s best to fully indulge in it with no distractions and with your eyes closed so you can absorb the music and get the most out of your listening experience. Once you’re used to ambient music, you can use it while doing tasks, such as studying, to help with general focus, concentration, and stress. 

Photo by Kelvin Lutan