Summary
Research continues to show the remarkable healing benefits of specific frequencies (whether they be frequencies of sound, light or electromagnetism) when applied to the human body. One such frequency is 40 Hz, or 40 pulses per second.
There are apparently two mechanisms by which exposure to 40 Hz (whether through sound, light, electric or magnetic pulses) impacts and benefits human physiology. These two may just be the different sides of the same coin.
The first is through brain entrainment to the 40 Hz input which induces an intensification of gamma waves in the brain. This induction of a gamma wave state in turn has numerous health benefits, particularly for the brain.
The second mechanism is through the resonance effect of 40 Hz, which is anti-inflammatory. Awareness of this effect is not new, it goes back to the late 1800’s in the United States when 1000’s of medical doctors and osteopaths employed electromagnetic therapies and built a knowledge base of the specific effects of different frequencies.
Both of these mechanisms, entrainment of the brain to produce a gamma state and the direct anti-inflammatory effect of tissue resonance to 40 Hz, are explored in this post.
Positive Brain Effects
One benefit of the 40 Hz frequency is achieved through brain entrainment. Brain entrainment occurs when our brain matches or synchronizes with a specific light, sound or electromagnetic frequency that we are exposed to.
When we are exposed to a 40 Hz frequency and our brain entrains to it, we enter the range of gamma brain waves. Gamma waves are defined as the range of brain wave frequencies from 30 Hz to 80 Hz.
Gamma waves are the fastest and most energetic brain waves. During a gamma wave state we tend to be more alert and creative. It is a state of peak concentration and is associated with a positive mood.
Inducing a 40 Hz state through brain wave entrainment has been shown to incur all of these benefits that are associated with gamma brain waves.
For instance, when researchers exposed mice to 40 Hz stimulation for one hour daily for a week, the mice demonstrated improved cognitive function. The mice demonstrated better memory and an increased ability to learn new tasks.
Listen to 40 Hz - Pure Audio
Listen to 40 Hz (Binaural Beat)
A binaural beat frequency is one that is created in your brain. If two different frequency tones are played in each ear, your brain will also hear a third tone which is the difference between the two. If for instance one hears a tone of 240 Hz in the left ear and 200 Hz in the right ear, the brain will also hear a tone of 40 Hz.
Numerous Experiments Show The Benefits of 40 Hz For Brain Function
Dementia Improves
Here’s another very interesting 40 Hz experiment that was done with a group of elders (12 males, 5 females, 70 years of age +/- 7 years) all of whom were diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia. The entire group of 17 performed 30 minutes of challenging brain exercises twice daily, five days per week for 4 weeks in a row.
In addition to doing the brain exercises, eleven of the 17 participants also simultaneously received transcranial alternating current stimulation at 40 Hz. (See the illustration to the right.)
The researchers evaluated the participants memory before, immediately after and 1 month after the one month of exercises/treatments. Both groups, those doing only the brain exercises and those doing the brain exercises and 40 Hz stimulation simultaneously showed significant improvement in the memory. One month later, the 40 Hz group had maintained their improvement much better than the group without the 40 Hz stimulation.
Cognitive Ability Improves
In yet another experiment researchers exposed human subjects to a light that flickered at 40 Hz. The goal of the experiment was “to establish whether a 40 Hz light flicker may have a therapeutic effect.”
The study enrolled twenty 20 year old men and women (16 men and 4 women). None of the men or women had suffered a neurological disease and none were taking any medications that might effect their cognition. (Cognition = “the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.”)
All of the participants were hooked up to an EEG (electroencephalogram) while they sat 1) quietly with their eyes open, 2) with eyes open before a 40 Hz flickering light or 3) before a randomly flickering light. Activity in the brain was monitored during each of these periods and compared.
The researchers concluded that “This study demonstrated the effects of 40 Hz low gamma frequency light flicker in healthy human brains using EEG. In responses to 40 Hz light flicker, the overall brain power increased significantly compared with the random light flicker treatment.”
Significant Changes In Brain Activity During 40 Hz Stimulation
In this experiment scientists watched brain activity of 15 healthy people with a functional MRI scanner while they were subjected to 40 Hz transcranial stimulation via tACS (same as above left diagram). The researchers found “significant BOLD changes in the visual cortices, subgenual cortex, right temporal cortex and supplementary motor area” during the period when the brain was being stimulated with 40 Hz. BOLD is an acronym for “blood-oxygen-level-dependent” signals on the fMRI scan. Heightened BOLD signals reflect an increase in blood flow, blood volume and oxygenation of an area of the brain. Increased oxygenation and blood flow to areas of the brain is healthy for the brain.
40 Hx Home Treatment System
Gamma Light Therapy let’s you treat yourself at home with 40 Hz light and sound therapy.
The light therapy is available through a stand alone Clarity 40 Hz Lamp. Or alternately, you can purchase their Clarity 40 Hz Light Bulb which will turn any household lamp into a 40 Hz therapy light.
The sound therapy is provided by the Clarity 40 Hz Sound Player.
Here are the costs of each of the above:
- Clarity 40 Hz Lamp $169.99
- Clarity 40 Hz Light Bulb $59.99
- Clarity 40 Hz Sound Player $49.99
The Gamma Light Therapy site also features two other light therapy devices for home use. These are the 670 nm red light (670nm red light has been shown to improve vision and help prevent retinopathy) and the 520 nm green light (green light and green environments, such as forests, have been shown to reduce stress and improve mood).
40 Hz Binaural Stimulation Improves Mood, Memory And Cognition
In this study the participants weree divided into three different listening groups. The groups listened to either 40 Hz, 25 Hz or 100 Hz. Each participant has eight “entrainment” sessions over a four week period, each session lasting just 5 minutes.
Participants were evaluated before and after sessions #1, #4 and #8 for improvement in cognitive ability, memory and mood. The 40 Hz group demonstrated consistent improvement in cognition, memory and mood. The 25 Hz and 100 Hz groups only showed an improvement in mood.
The authors go on to say that Binaural Stimulation at 40 Hz could be useful in the treatment of chronic brain injuries based on the results of their study.
Enhances Facial Recognition and Object Perception
In this study researchers stimulated the right occipital cortex of 60 healthy volunteers with 40 Hz via transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS). They concluded that “40 Hz tACS enhanced both face and object perception.” They further clarified that the effect was frequency specific, that “stimulation at 5 Hz did not cause any behavioural change”.
40 Hz Protection Against Alzheimer’s
Other animal experiments show that the 40 Hz frequency may protect against Alzheimer’s disease. In an experiment published in the journal Nature, mice who were predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease were exposed to a non-invasive light flickering at 40 Hz. Researchers found that the visual cortex–the part of the brain that processes visual stimuli–had reduced levels of the amyloid plaque proteins that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Li-Huei Tsai is the primary researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology who pioneered the study of using 40 Hz Gamma wave entrainment to induce healthy brain responses in animal studies and now human studies. She speaks of her research in the TED talk on the right.
40 Hz Stimulation Of Neurons In Cell Culture Reveals Promising Results
Researchers stimulated neurons in cell cultures with 40 Hz frequencies and monitored their response. They found that the neurons demonstrated “enhanced cell differentiation and proliferation”. They concluded that stimulation with 40 Hz showed promise in regenerative medicine (of the brain).
How 40 Hz Helps Clean Up The Brain
Researchers and doctors are developing non-invasive and non-drug approaches to treating Alzheimer’s Disease pathology. The work is reviewed in an editorial in the Journal Of Internal Medicine entitled “The Magics Of 40 Hertz”.
The graphic below is from the editorial and describes the sequence of events whereby stimulation with 40 Hz results in a cleanup of amyloid plaques in the brain. In Alzheimer’s Disease abnormally high levels of a protein called beta-amyloid 42 (which is thought to be toxic) clump together to form plaques that collect between neurons and disrupt cell function.
Brain stimulation with 40 Hz (either light, sound or both) has been shown to activate glial cells within the brain which in turn phagocytize (eat up) the harmful plaques.
Schematic illustration of the suggested effect of 40-Hz light or sound stimulation on brain waves, and how entrained gamma waves activates microglia, leading to removal of amyloid plaques. Illustration by Mattia Karlen.
40 Hz Physioacoustic Therapy Improves Parkinson’s Disease
In another experiment researchers exposed a group of 21 Parkinson’s Disease patients to a 40 Hz vibration for 25 minutes three times per week over the course of 12 weeks. Their results were compared to another group of 15 Parkinson’s Disease patients who were treated with a “simulated vibration” (not 40 Hz) for the same time period. The mean age of all participants was 69 years of age, plus/minus 9.5 years.
When those treated with 40 Hz were compared to the placebo group, there was significant improvement in the treated group. And the benefits gained by the group treated with 40 Hz were sustained for a 12 week follow up period.
The researchers stated “all aspects of Parkinson’s Disease, including tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia (slowness of movement), and posture and gait measures (a person’s manner of walking) improved.
The authors noted that an additional placebo group in the experiment were exposed only to auditory 40 Hz stimulation. (The placebo group reported above received a non-40 Hz vibration). Those in the placebo group who received only the 40 Hz auditory stimulation did not experience significant benefit. This highlights the fact that the type of frequency exposure seems to be critical in terms of benefit for different health conditions.
Physioacoustic Chair: Experimental setup (40-Hz physioacoustic chair that provides uniform vibration throughout the body).
40 Hz Is Not A Recent Discovery
40 Hz has long been known to have antiinflammatory effects on body physiology. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in the United States, 1000’s of medical doctors and osteopathic physicians of the time used electromagnetic frequencies as a major treatment modality.
What evolved at the time was a detailed understanding of the effect of specific frequencies. While it is not truly understood how doctors of the time developed this detailed knowledge of the effect of different frequencies, it is thought to have been partly through empirical observations and partly through their intuitive abilities.
Frequency Specific Microcurrent is the modern iteration of the science of electromedicine that prevailed in medicine at the turn of the last century. The electromedicine practices of doctors in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were suppressed by the American Medical Association which threatened to revoke the licenses of all doctors who practiced electromedicine at that time.
Frequency specific microcurrent (FSM) works on the basis of resonance, that frequencies resonate with specific structures and functions of the human body. Resonant frequencies are created by pulsing microcurrents from one body area to another via electrodes placed on the skin.
Frequencies resonate with body structures such as the brain as a whole, or with specific areas of the brain such as the frontal lobe, the temporal lobe, the cerebellum, the hypothalamus, the pons, and to peripheral nerves for instance. There are resonant frequencies for many body structures–for most organs and tissues. For instance, the resonant frequency for the heart is 33, for the liver is 35.
40 Hz Regulates Inflammation
There are also specific frequencies for body functions and physiological activities. The frequency for regulation of the process of inflammation is 40 Hz. Other function frequencies include those for edema and swelling (14 Hz), for hemorrhage (18 Hz), for scar tissue formation and fibrosis (13 Hz, 51 Hz), and there are many others.
The magic of Frequency Specific Microcurrent occurs when frequencies for body structures are paired with frequencies for body functions. Inflammation (and pain) in a peripheral nerve can be relieved effectively by pairing the frequency for inflammation (40 Hz) with the frequency for peripheral nerves (396 Hz). In FSM both frequencies are run simultaneously with conductive pads placed on the skin so that the currents run through the target area, in this case a peripheral nerve.
A Personal Story Of The Anti-Inflammatory Benefits Of 40 Hz
I use this example of inflammation in a peripheral nerve because of personal experience. For 30+ years I sufferred left leg pain stemming from pressure on a nerve root in my low back. Several MRI scans had documented a severly bulging disc (L5-S1) pinching the left S1 nerve root. Being a chiropractor by trade I knew what to do to avoid surgery, but I did continue to suffer bouts of left leg pain whenever I did too much bending, standing, etc.
When I first read about Frequency Specific Microcurrent (Dr. Carol McMakin’s book The Resonance Effect) I decided to check out FSM for myself. I found a medical doctor who was providing FSM treatments.
After seven 1 hour treatments over an eight week period I was amazed. No leg pain whatsoever no matter what I did, how long I sat or stood, or how many time I bent over at the waist. No numbness in my foot. Significantly greater flexibility and relaxation in my low back. A feeling of greater strength. When I tried to objectively assess the improvement I had experienced with those treatments I decided I was 80% improved over my chronic state of complaints for the past several years.
It was then that I became certified in FSM and in my studies began to appreciate the significance of 40 Hz as the anti-inflammatory frequency. To learn more about how Frequency Specific Microcurrent works click here.
Dramatic Reduction In Inflammatory Cytokines Following FSM Treatment With 40 Hz + 10 Hz Frequencies Simultaneously
Cytokines are signal molecules that secreted by the immune system. Many of the cytokines promote inflammation. Chronic inflammation, which is now known to be the root cause of many chronic illnesses, has not been easy to treat.
Researchers demonstrated a profound reduction in inflammatory cytokines in humans who were treated with Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM) using 40 Hz and 10 Hz simultaneously. In the FSM discipline 40 Hz is understood to reduce excessive inflammation while 10 Hz resonates to the spinal cord. When run simultaneously, as is the standard FSM method, there was a profound reduction in key inflammatory “cytokines s IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-a; and the neuropeptide substance P.”
Researchers have recently demonstrated the healing benefits of the FSM method of applying electromagnetic frequencies for a number of conditions including shingles, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, post radiation therapy fibrosis, macular degeneration (wet and dry), peripheral neuropathy and low back pain.
To see a list of the health conditions that doctors and clinicians are reporting respond well to Frequency Specific Microcurrent click here.
