Thursday, November 27, 2008

Helping you sleep. Brain Music Therapy

The brain music therapy (BMT) program starts by recording an individual's brain waves using an electroencephalogram. Key rhythms from the recording are translated by a computerized mathematical formula into musical sounds. The results are often compared to classical music, but each one is individualized.

Those sounds are then placed on a CD that trains the brain to relax, enabling the patient to sleep.

The method was developed in Russia in 1992 as an alternative to medication for insomnia. Galina Mindlin, a neuro-psychiatrist practicing in New York City, is the one who brought BMT to the United States in 2004.

Brain wave recordings done in the United States, Europe and Canada are sent to Russia where the customized CDs are created.

Sue Klear, a psychologist from San Jose, who is has a practice that includes BMT, expects the necessary equipment will be in the U.S. shortly, which will cut down on the three- to four-week wait between recordings and delivery of the CD.

While the article bellow is more of a promotion for Dr. Klear's practice than an information piece, the concept is pretty intriguing - personalized acoustic therapy that induces a state of relaxation.

Much criticism of the method can be found if one cares to search for "Brain Music Therapy". However, migraine people are notoriously known for their insomnia - overactive brains, pain, jumping up and down hormone levels, you name it. If BMT really helps at least some of us, it's good enough for yours truly.

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