Written By Benjamin Foodman
About the Author
Ben Foodman is a licensed psychotherapist & performance specialist. He owns his private practice located in Charlotte North Carolina where he specializes in working with athletes to help them overcome mental blocks (the yips), PTSD, ADD / ADHD and achieve flow states through the techniques of Brainspotting & Neurofeedback. If you are interested in services, use the link here! Enjoy the article below!
Peak Athlete Performance & 8D Audio
If you are an athlete or have ever watched athletes during pre-performance warm ups, you will often see them wearing headphones listening to music and trying to either relax or increase sympathetic nervous system activation prior to their competition. Part of the reason for this is because athletes are trying to stay in what is commonly known as the Internal Zone of Optimal Functioning. While many sport psychologists and mental performance coaches encourage athletes to utilize different types of music, there is one type of audio that athletes can utilize which can provide superior performance and recovery results compared to standard music options.
This type of audio is known as 8D audio. 8D audio is when the sounds that are heard through headphones shift from ear to ear in a rhythmic fashion. To some people this may seem simple and unimportant. But to trained Brainspotting & EMDR therapists, we understand there is much more happening on a neurological level than most people are aware of. For this Training Report I want to discuss the performance advantages for using 8D audio by first exploring the relationship between 8D audio and bilateral stimulation, how this can be incorporated in pre-performance routines, and how to apply this tool within any athlete’s preparation process. Let’s first explore what Bilateral Stimulation is as it relates to 8D audio.
EMDR, Brainspotting, Athletes & Bilateral Stimulation
In Brainspotting and EMDR therapy, part of the process involves the client experiencing what is called bilateral stimulation. One of the ways this can occur is by having the client listen to 8D audio sounds, which as we mentioned before are the rhythmic shifting of sounds from left ear to right ear repeatedly. Neurologically, when we hear noises shifting from ear to ear this creates a rhythmic pattern of left brain to right brain hemisphere activation. As this process continues, the auditory layer of the agranular cortex is stimulated which we believe enhances the experience of deep subcortical processing. As deep processing occurs, this allows the client to more easily access deeper emotions and significantly stronger thoughts along with more vivid memories.
Interestingly, athletes seem to benefit from 8D audio in other ways outside of Brainspotting and EMDR. There has been some research that suggests when athletes listen to 8D audio during physical warm ups or psychological sport pre-performance routines, athletes appear to experience increases in range of motion as well as increases in overall relaxation. Being relaxed and loose during performance is critical because athletes that have freedom of movement in their body are more likely to move more efficiently, whereas athletes that are tight and/or physically guarded are not as effective in sport performance movement. So now that we have established that there are significant potential benefits from listening to 8D audio, what are the different ways 8D audio can be used?
8D Audio & Athlete Pre-Performance Routines
As with any intervention that sport psychologists and athletes use to enhance performance, we need to ask ourselves what our goal or expectation is for that intervention. There are many applications for which we can consider implementing 8D audio during pre-performance routines and mental performance training. From my perspective there are two ways 8D audio should be used: to help relax during a pre-performance routine or physical therapy; to process through mental blocks or distressing thoughts. It cannot be emphasized enough that athletes that are trying to perform at their best are usually able to feel loose rather than tight or constricted. Bilateral stimulation can help athletes achieve greater range of motion in pre stretching routines when listening to the 8D audio format, thus helping them improve from a performance perspective.
In regards to processing mental blocks or distressing thoughts, the 8D audio (bilateral stimulation) triggers significant activation within the agranular cortex which then theoretically enhances subcortical brain activity. Why is this important? Many therapists believe that the symptoms of traumatic events and mental blocks manifest in the form of negative thinking and unwanted body-sensations (e.g. muscle tension) but are not the source of the problem. Therefore it is thought that these issues originate from the subcortical brain region which is an important part of both our deep processing and is heavily involved with the previously mentioned symptoms due to the fact that this part of the brain is the first waypoint for assessing incoming safety information. Therefore, 8D audio usually puts us in the best position to internally process these issues with enhanced subcortical brain activity. So with that being said, what are pre-performance routines that include 8D audio?
Athletes, 8D Audio & Physical Recovery
Athletes have a wide variety of pre-performance music preferences. Some athletes choose to listen to music that ‘amps’ themselves up, resulting in higher sympathetic nervous system activation, while other athletes choose to listen to music that calms them down and help them emotionally connect with ideas that will help them improve during sport performance. Whatever the athlete’s preference for music consumption is before performance, they should continue to utilize those choices. My suggestion though is that athletes add at least several minutes of 8D audio music consumption prior to performance. The consumption of 8D audio can specifically occur during warm ups and stretching routines prior to competition.
I also recommend that athletes use 8D audio whenever they are working with physical therapists. Athletes can place the volume low enough to both listen & communicate with the physical therapist while also simultaneously receiving the benefits of the bilateral stimulation. In theory, this can potentially help individuals work through difficult areas where range of motion has been limited and/or prohibited. Regardless of how athletes choose to use 8D audio, even using the music incrementally can potentially have a significant impact. Remember, when implementing a new pre-performance routine, start small and slowly work towards increasing consistency of use.
Note To Reader:
If you are an athlete reading this segment of the TRAINING REPORT, hopefully this content was helpful! I put the Training Report together because I felt like many of the discussions on issues such as the Yips/mental blocks, strength training & other subject matter on athlete performance concepts were really missing the mark on these ideas (e.g. how trauma is the direct cause of the Yips). If you are interested in learning more, make sure to subscribe below for when I put out new content on issues related to sport psychology & athlete performance! Also, if you are looking to work with a mental performance specialist, you are in the right place! USE THIS LINK to reach out to me to see if my services are the right fit for your goals!
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Benjamin Foodman
LCSW, Performance Consultant
