Amayzine

This does sound for your sleep: put your baby under the extractor hood

Baby sleeping feet My brother placed his fresh son in my arms, turned off the extractor hood, and walked into the garden. The little one started to cry, to CRY. I understood. Now you might think: what does the extractor hood have to do with this? Everything. My nephew sleeps best with a loud extractor hood. The louder, the more peaceful the sleep. So I sometimes receive a photo from my sister-in-law that he is peacefully napping again under a roaring stainless steel contraption. And I am glad that mine at home has a sort of turbo mode, for when I have to babysit soon. By the way, I am also considering creating a photo album on my phone titled ‘Jimi and the extractor hood’. But actually, it makes sense, because sound does influence sleep.

An ascending airplane
If you search for ‘Baby Noise’ on Spotify, you get a sound clip from Granular that about 290 million desperate parents turn to in despair. It’s somewhat in between a mild extractor hood and an ascending airplane (minus the pressure on the ears). Why does it work? This sound seems to resemble what a baby hears in the womb the most and thus has a soothing effect. What a racket it must be in there, I say.

A lower tone
Just as the extractor hood works for a baby, binaural beats seem to work for adults. You listen to two different frequencies, one in one ear and the other in the other, causing your brain to create a third frequency, which has a beneficial effect on stress, sleep, and concentration disorders. While typing this piece, I have already seen the best Red Velvet from Rotterdam pass by, checked my app three times, and I have certainly drifted off in thought five times. Time to crank up the binaural beats on Spotify.

Where I was still sputtering from all the noise with Baby Noise, I find this almost peaceful sounding. Like a kind of very long sustained oooohm, like in hardcore yoga. I don’t know if it’s a remnant of carnival or if it works, but I dare say I had to yawn within 30 seconds. Which is not so handy on a Monday afternoon at 15:28.

Not too relaxed hertz
How does it work? The intermediate tone generated by the two different tones either provides more focus or relaxation or sleep. The AD from Monday explains it as follows: beta beats between 13 and 30 hertz help with anxiety and stress, alpha beats between 8 and 12 hertz provide concentration and focus, and theta beats between 4 and 7 hertz and delta beats between 0.5 and 3 hertz ensure relaxation. You understand that I first need to consult my Spotify to see if I am not accidentally listening to the relaxed hertz. Check, I just cranked up the alpha waves.

You apparently really get into a deep concentration from the binaural beats. I don’t know if it’s because I have my headphones on, which symbolizes ‘leave me alone’, or if it really helps, but I just wrote this piece in one fluid motion. And believe me, that is rare in our chicken coop... Uuuh, our office garden.