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Gottman Therapy
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+40 751 202 272
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FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions (BrainTap®)

What are BrainTap headphones?

BrainTap headphones represent the cutting edge of brain wellness technology, used and supported by health professionals worldwide.

The device delivers:
  • gentle pulses of light through the earphones and a front visor
  • combined sound technologies: binaural beats and isochronic tones
These signals are designed to create:
  • deep relaxation
  • altered states of consciousness
When flickering light synchronizes with rhythmic tones, a deeply balanced state is achieved—ideal for:
  • mind-body balance
  • focus
  • accelerated learning
The BrainTap device is also considered a portable performance tool, powered by audio-guided sessions that are specially encoded using Neuro-Sensory Algorithms (NSA).
These sessions:
  • guide the user from an awake state into a relaxed state that is optimal for learning
  • are decoded by a mini-computer built into the headset, which converts the NSA-encoded signals embedded in each session and guides the user through a brainwave training process specifically designed for that session.
The BrainTap system includes over 2,000 sessions across 50+ categories, and is compatible with any smartphone or tablet using Apple or Android apps.
The term “entrainment” refers to the synchronization of an organism with an external rhythm.
In BrainTap, the brain is the system being “entrained,” and the rhythm is provided through light and sound stimulation.
The goal is to simulate specific brainwave patterns known to promote:
  • deep relaxation
  • expanded states of consciousness
This process supports the brain in reaching deep relaxation states using guided imagery (mental visualization)—a key ability for:
  • creativity
  • innovation
  • achieving personal goals
Many inventors, artists, and elite athletes (e.g., Einstein, Tesla, Chopin, Tiger Woods) used visualization as a performance tool. BrainTap helps shift the mind from stress into calm and inner balance.
To overcome the negative effects of stress, it is essential to exit the “fight-or-flight” response and enter a relaxed state. This is difficult when the brain remains predominantly in high beta activity.
Ideally, we want to shift into:
  • Alpha – the intuitive mind
  • Theta – the inventive mind
Theta is often considered ideal for deep creativity and “leaps” in awareness but is hard to maintain naturally.
BrainTap technology supports a frequency following response (FFR) that helps the brain remain active and focused in these desired states. By using BrainTap, the brain is trained to generate more Alpha and Theta brainwaves and fewer Beta waves.
  • Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta BETA 13-30 Hz This is the wide-awake alert state where you spend most of your waking life. Beta is your reactionary mind. It is the level of your mind where fears, frustrations, and negative emotions are processed. This is also where your strongest filtering system operates. It is called the critical factor. The key purpose of using the BrainTap Headset is to train your mind to get out of this state where stress is dominant.
  • ALPHA 8-13 Hz This is the frequency most associated with creativity, imagination, and flow. Alpha is the intuitive mind. It is also the brain state associated with relaxation, tranquility, and daydreaming. Flow thinking, or a state of “inward awareness,” takes place in alpha. It is also known as a super-learning state
  • THETA 4-8 Hz This is the breakthrough state where you can reinvent your life. Theta is the inventive mind. It borders on sleep and is a meditative state with access to the other-than-conscious mind where you have higher levels of creativity, learning, and inspiration. It is also the state in which the BrainTap Headset helps you to visualize and realize your goals.
  • DELTA 1-4 Hz This is deep, dreamless sleep. Delta is the unconscious mind. The BrainTap Headset is designed to keep you from falling into this state of sleep. This is why the light and sound patterns of the BrainTap Headset system continue to change throughout the session
  • GAMMA (30–100 Hz; commonly 40 Hz in humans): The fastest brainwave activity, associated with complex processing, high awareness, insight, intense concentration, and sometimes “peak performance” experiences.
Frequency following response (FFR) is the effect created through synchronized light and sound
It’s how the brain “syncs” to the strobe lights, beats, and tones. While your brain follows the frequencies, you experience less inner chatter and improved concentration. After a few weeks of regular use, most people gain a sense of balance and inner calm. Users report feeling serene, focused, and alert even when faced with high-pressure situations.
These are imbedded tones that the brain naturally follows into states of deep relaxation. Within minutes your brain reaches extraordinary levels of performance that would otherwise take years of practice to achieve. Binaural beats work by tricking the brain into hearing a phantom frequency that isn’t really there.
For example, if we play a 220 Hz carrier tone into the left ear and a 226.5 Hz carrier tone into the right ear, your brain perceives the difference between the two, which is a subtle beat frequency of 6.5 Hz, the same frequency associated with deep, meditative states. Your brain naturally follows this frequency and you experience this deeply relaxed state. Binaural beats are a proven self-development tool that’s been researched for decades.
This is the newest brainwave entrainment technology. Isochronic tones are manually created, equal intensity pulses of sound separated by an interval of silence. They turn on and off rapidly, but the speed depends on the desired brain frequency. The discrete nature of isochronic tones makes them particularly easy for the brain to follow.
The lights in the ears are set to the optimum frequency for creating a delightful feeling of serenity and balance. The earphone lights work by stimulating the ear meridians with gentle frequency pulses – so gentle that they are not visible to the human eye – to soothe, harmonize, calm and balance you.
The best brainwave entrainment is auditory as well as visual. Environmental sounds and music have been used for centuries in almost all cultures to create an altered state of consciousness. For example, native tribes used drums, chants, and environmental sounds like wind and rain to provide strong mental pictures and associations. There is a reason we find it relaxing to sit by the ocean and listen to waves crashing to shore or the sound of a stream as it trickles over rocks. These pleasant sounds tend to generate alpha brainwave activity naturally.
In today’s frenetic culture, though, we rarely get to enjoy nature’s relaxing effects.
For this reason, Dr. Porter has personally encoded each session so that on a daily basis you can get a perfectly synchronized experience similar to that which nature provides. Plus, because the program is encoded into the digital audio file, you can use the BrainTap headset with any of today’s high quality music players, such as the iPod or iPad, to ensure the best possible sound quality.
The music you hear on every BrainTap Technology process was composed specifically to complement the alpha/theta brainwave entrainment. The music is designed to create a full 360-degree experience that floods your mind with beautiful images and peaceful thoughts.
Light emitting diodes, also called LEDs, are solid-state devices that convert small amounts of safe electrical energy into light. They can be switched on and off much faster than incandescent lights, producing the crisp strobe-like pulses most effective at inducing the frequency following response needed to guide the user through the brainwave states. For BrainTap, blue LEDs were chosen for their pure, cool, calming color. Our operational research showed that users preferred the blue effect through closed eyes more than any other LEDs available. It is important to note that a person who is prone to seizures should not use the light portion of the BrainTap headset system.

Yes. Guided imagery techniques are scientifically supported and can work without the headset, including:

  • autogenic training
  • progressive muscle relaxation
  • meditation
  • biofeedback
However, with BrainTap:
  • the experience is deeper
  • it requires no conscious effort—just relax and receive the experience
When you hear a second voice coming through one side of the headphone and then the other, it’s not a mistake! This is a technique called “Dual Voice Processing.”
These sessions are recorded in this way to provide your brain with a full holographic experience. The second voice moving from right to left and back again is there to stimulate right and left hemisphere balance.
It may seem a little disconcerting at first, but don’t worry, your brain will adapt quickly. The good news is, that you don’t have to consciously listen to any of the voices, so just relax and let it happen.
In the BrainTap Pro app, the sessions that have Dual Voice Processing are marked “DV” and those that don’t will be marked “SV” for single voice.
With the visor placed over your eyes and the headset on your ears, you become fully immersed in synchronized light and sound.
  • Your eyes perceive a “light show” (even when closed)
  • Your ears hear specially designed music and BrainTap voice guidance
Your brain activity is gently guided from:
  • the Beta state (active/alert)
  • to the Alpha/Theta states (deep relaxation)
Some users visualize colorful geometric patterns, while others may stop noticing the light altogether. The light and audio pulses gradually shift from waking Beta brainwaves toward Theta—often associated with a dreamlike, deeply relaxed state. As the session progresses, you may also experience mild dizziness or lightheadedness.

Using Frequency Following Response (FFR) technology, your brain activity begins to follow the pulse rate of the Neuro-Sensory Algorithms (NSA) embedded in the session.

At the same time, your mind rehearses the behaviors and changes you wish to implement in your daily life.
One user described the experience best as:
“It feels like my body falls asleep, but my mind stays awake.”
BrainTap creates a natural, sleep-like state in which:
  • the mind receives information to apply while awake
  • the information becomes “anchored” in awareness—like a note on the fridge to remember later
This is often described as “anchoring your vision into your daily timeline.”
Many people genuinely want to make changes in life, but the reality is that we become what we practice daily—not what we intend to do. BrainTap allows you to:
  • mentally rehearse desired behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs
  • create a “success timeline” in your mind
With BrainTap, you visualize a new response to old behavioral triggers. When you encounter those triggers in real life, you respond differently—because your mind already “knows” the new response.
As you strengthen this new response, you gain confidence that you can adopt new behaviors—for example becoming tobacco-free, developing healthier habits, or changing any negative behavior pattern.
People invest thousands of hours in improving their body—but almost none in improving their thoughts.
We can achieve far more by better managing brainwave activity and repeatedly rehearsing the healthy, productive lifestyle we want to live. BrainTap may help support:
  • deep relaxation that stimulates endorphin production and other anti-stress neurotransmitters
  • changing unwanted habits (smoking, overeating)
  • balancing brain hemispheres — supporting creativity and mental clarity
  • healthier, restorative sleep
  • increased cerebral blood flow — improved focus and clear thinking
  • reduced “mental noise” and improved motivation and performance
  • natural stress management
  • improved memory
  • improved learning skills such as focus and information recall
  • a greater sense of calm
  • increased mental clarity and lucid dreaming
  • increased physical energy
BrainTap doesn’t give you new abilities—it activates the abilities you already have.
For example:
  • you already know what healthy eating means
  • you already know you should drink water
  • you already know exercise is beneficial
What BrainTap offers is support for living those skills consistently by helping build accountability and momentum:
  • consistent access to these behaviors
  • motivation, willpower, and energy to practice them
It functions like “training for the mind,” where the mind helps bring what you imagine into real life.
Over 90% of first-time users report feeling refreshed and motivated after their first session.
Many people notice that after seriously following programs such as “Habits of Naturally Thin People” they experience:
  • attitude changes
  • a stronger desire to eat healthier
  • a desire to drink more water
  • increased self-confidence
Golf users often say they feel more confident and relaxed even in their first game after a BrainTap golf session.
Everyone’s experience is unique.
You may feel:
  • lightness, heaviness, or tingling sensations
  • a floating sensation
  • like you are “on the edge” of sleep
  • as if you are drifting in and out of awareness
Sometimes you may notice:
  • small eyelid movements
  • muscle twitches
These are signs that you have entered the Alpha/Theta state—exactly what BrainTap is designed to support.
Yes, BrainTap is safe for most people.
Known side effects are generally positive:
  • better sleep
  • improved memory
  • increased concentration
  • reduced stress
Exceptions:
People with epilepsy, brain injuries, photosensitivity, or neurological disorders should consult a physician before use.
Anyone without severe photosensitivity can benefit.
The combination of guided audio visualization and stimulation can create a “laser focus” effect and support improved performance.
The visor light is adjustable, and individuals with mild sensitivity may find a comfortable setting.
People with epilepsy or photosensitive seizures should not use the light feature, but they may still benefit from:
  • voice guidance
  • auricular stimulation (ear points)
  • relaxing sound tones
In general, yes—anyone with healthy brain function can use the technology and access Alpha and Theta states.
However, BrainTap is not recommended for individuals with severe psychiatric disorders.
People with epilepsy should only use the headset without light.
Yes—if they are able to sit calmly for 10–20 minutes.
There are dedicated sessions for:
  • young children
  • pre-teens
  • teenagers
Children from age 5+ can use BrainTap before bedtime with excellent results.
The “Accelerated Learning” series is suitable for both young people and adults.

The recommendation is 1–2 sessions per day.

It can be used once per day, but 3 sessions per day is excellent. Average usage is around 28 sessions per month.

Suggested routine:
  • Morning: peak performance (“digital coffee”) — activates Alpha
  • Midday: like a brain reboot — activates Theta
  • After work: for energy and vitality with family and friends
  • Before bedtime: restful sleep — supports Delta
The Sleep RX program won an award at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) as a fast method to help the brain enter deep Delta sleep for effective recovery and stress release.
Human brainwaves, measured through an EEG (electroencephalogram), are rhythmic or repetitive patterns of neural activity in the central nervous system.
These electrical signals allow the brain to communicate with itself and with other systems in the body.
There are five main frequency bands:
  • Delta
  • Theta
  • Alpha
  • Beta
  • Gamma

Each is associated with specific mental states.

Neural entrainment can instantly increase the power of a targeted frequency with minimal effort from the user, using rhythmic:

  • auditory stimuli (binaural beats, isochronic tones)
  • visual stimuli
To successfully perform physical or mental tasks, brainwave activity needs to be functional and coherent.
Unlike traditional meditation apps, BrainTap’s proprietary neuro-algorithm enables brainwave training—synchronizing brainwaves with specialized sound—without requiring any additional effort.
These sounds generate a wide spectrum of neural activity, forming a matrix BrainTap uses to support neuroplasticity optimization.
In short: your brain can reorganize and form new neural connections for a more balanced and empowered life through BrainTap’s neural training, which strengthens targeted frequencies using rhythmic stimulation—auditory or visual.
And the best part? The results are lasting.