Although it has in fact been around for centuries, Audio-Visual Entrainment has only recently been receiving attention in research studies and medical journals. David Siever, a leading researcher in the field and the founder of Mind Alive, an Edmonton-based company that studies and designs AVE devices, has conducted some of the latest research in the effects of this ground breaking therapy. In several clinical studies, Siever has conducted experiments with AVE treatment on patients suffering from depression, insomnia, attention deficit disorder (ADD), chronic pain and Fibromyalgia. In these studies, which are published in Siever's book The Re-discovery of Audio-Visual Entrainment Technology, the patients not only expressed a relief in their symptoms but they also reported an improvement in their social life with their friends and family.
The practice of AVE is based on the study of brainwave activity which researchers like Siever believe play a huge role in the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle. According to Light and Sound Therapy, the use of flashing lights and pulsing tones through a headset can help direct an individual's mind towards healthier brainwave states.
Healthy brains should be producing an adequate amount of beta waves. People who suffer from depression, insomnia, ADD and even stress do not produce the appropriate type of brainwaves that are required for important activities and situations. Instead of producing the necessary beta brainwaves that are required for reading, individuals with ADD and ADHD produce theta waves as they overpower their brain's supply of beta brainwaves. Researchers at Light and Sound Therapy have also stated that another example of inappropriate brainwave activity is depression due to the low production of alpha brainwaves. The production of these brainwaves are essential for a happy and balanced life.
The remainder of this article will focus mainly on David Siever's research on the proven effects of AVE and the DAVID (Digital Audio/Visual Integration Device) as a viable non-medical treatment of insomnia, Fibromyalgia, depression and ADD/ADHD.
Insomnia and Fibromyalgia
Individuals with chronic insomnia and sleeplessness related to Fibromyalgia suffer from what is known to researchers in the field of AVE as "alpha sleep" and "fibro-fog," a slow alpha brainwave condition. Since "fibro fog" is a condition that causes impaired thought and concentration,which are brain activities that are related to the function of beta brainwaves, the treatment of AVE is found to be more effective than the use of pharmaceutical treatments such as anti-depressants.
In his book, The Re-Discovery of Audio-Visual Entrainment, David Siever published a study that he conducted in 1997 on patients with Fibromyalgia. He applied the use of three different treatments: AVE with the DAVID Paradise device, neural facial therapy and acupuncture and the administer of nutritional supplements. Siever concluded that the forty nine participants experienced the best results when all three treatments were combined. These treatments helped reduce the patients' symptoms of anxiety, pain and fatigue. Siever found that overall, the single treatment of AVE either "improved or stayed the same in the tested variables."
In order to experience a relief in the symptoms of insomnia, anxiety and fatigue, Fibromyalgia patients should supplement their use of the AVE with the use of nutritional supplements such as Magnesium which was found to be the most popular supplement during the study.
Depression
One of the most common illnesses that AVE is used to treat is depression, which researchers at Behavioural Health of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida have focused their studies on. Unlike the traditional use of anti-depressants and SSRIs such as Prozac and Cymbalta, AVE treats a patient's depression without subjecting them to potential side effects.
At the Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches research facility, researchers conducted a study on patients suffering from depression. The Light and Sound Neurotherapy Treatment Intervention was administered for five afternoons per week for 30 minutes each session over a period of two weeks. The patients were tested on four different factors including Mindfulness Meditation, Deep Relaxation, Acceptance of Powerlessness and Beating the Blues.
Compared to patients treated with the centre's standard treatment services, the group treated with the AVE reported feeling an even greater improvement in the four factors. Researchers stated that the NeuroAdvantage group receiving the AVE treatment had depression and hopelessness scores that "decreased by 75 % while their self-esteem scores increased by 80 %."
Based on this research, individuals with depression can rely on the effective and soothing treatment of Light and sound therapy for 30 minutes a day to ease their feelings of despair and misery.
ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)
Along with Michael Joyce, a school psychologist, David Siever also conducted research on the use of AVE on children with ADD in an elementary school in Minnesota. Using the TOVA, a computerized continuous performance test, they tested the children on inattention, impulsiveness, response reaction time and variability over a course of two weeks. Following the AVE treatments, Joyce showed both a reduction in the four categories as well as an increase in their reading levels. For example, in comparison to the score of 80 before the AVE treatment, the children scored 100 in reading.
In addition to the students' academic achievements and their level of improvement in each of the four categories, teachers and parents also noted a significant change in their social behaviour. A reading teacher at the Heart of the Lakes Elementary School in Minnesota stated that, following their AVE treatments, the children's "brains were engaged and the students were more alert."
Finding an AVE Practitioner Near You
To find a professional who practices Audio-Visual Entrainment, you can browse through an online directory at Alternatives for Healing, a website that provides international listings of professionals in the field of holistic practice and alternative medicine.
Individuals with epilepsy should definitely not seek treatment with Audio-Visual Entrainment unless it's under the close supervision of a physician.
Sources:
- Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches, Inc." Light and sound Neurotherapy."
- Siever, David. "Clinical studies related to Audio-Visual Entrainment/Light and Sound stimulation." The Re-Discovery of Audio-Visual Entrainment Technology. Comptronic Devices Limited, 1997.
- Light and Sound Therapy. " So what is Audio-Visual Entrainment (AVE)?"
Laura LeFebvre - Laura has been a writer probably for as long as she's known how to pick up a pen or peck at a keyboard, thriving on the written word ever ...
