Isn’t it a nice feeling to know you’re surrounded by family, with all the loving support and positive energy necessary to achieve optimal health and success in life? Conversely, aren’t these achievements far more difficult when that support network is removed? Well, like a loving, caring family, our planet possesses a special ability to nurture all life on it. But rather than using encouraging words or children’s aspirin, Mother Earth supports its denizens with resonant frequencies.

I’m referring to the Schumann resonance (SR), which consists of naturally occurring, extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves that inhabit the space above the Earth and below the ionosphere. It sounds trippy, but this is a real thing. Discovered—or more accurately, mathematically predicted—by Winfried Otto Schumann in 1952, SR is sustained by the energy created by the 2000 or so thunderstorms that produce about 50 flashes of lightning around the planet every second.

The SR ELF electromagnetic waves encircle the globe, hug-like, with the lowest-frequency mode occurring around 7.83Hz. Higher resonance modes peak every 6.5Hz or so (14.3, 20.8, 27.3 and 33.8, etc, up to about 60Hz), but this article is concerned with that predominant wave of 7.83Hz.

Potential Impact On Human Health

Obviously, our survival is dependent on the Earth’s atmosphere for oxygen and its terrestrial bounty of food and water. But ever more evidence is suggesting that we also require a steady diet of geomagnetic resonances to maintain optimal health, and the Schumann resonance in particular. Upon discovering that the fundamental Schumann frequency of 7.83Hz is very close to that of human alpha wave rhythms, Schumann’s doctoral student Herbert König was one of the first modern researchers to associate SR with human bioactivity.

Centuries before König, though, ancient Indian Rishis also knew about it, enhancing it with the isochronic tonal frequencies of the sound ‘OM’. In fact, plenty of anthropological evidence suggests humans of all cultures have, over the millennia, attempted to achieve trance states by synchronizing with planetary resonances, before even knowing precisely what those were. This was done through various rituals like shamanic drumming and dancing, or religious behaviours such as bobbing and swaying during prayer.

Isochronic tones are regular beats of a single tone used for brainwave training. They differ from monaural beats, which are constant sine wave pulses rather than entirely separate pulses of a single tone. As the contrast between noise and silence is more pronounced than the constant pulses of monaural beats, the stimulus is stronger and has a greater effect on brain entrainment. This frequency has been associated with high levels of hypnotizability and meditation, increased HGH levels, and enhanced cerebral blood flow levels.



In our brains, alpha waves span the frequency range of 7.5–12.5Hz. They’re present in our brains during deep relaxation, dreaming and light meditation . This state brings us to the tip of the creativity iceberg that exists just below conscious awareness. It could be said that alpha waves are a “gateway” of sorts to deeper states of consciousness: artists and other creatives often report that they get their best ideas just before falling asleep. These waves have been proven to promote mental coordination, calmness, alertness, inner awareness, mind/body integration and learning.

Since alpha waves closely resemble the fundamental SR frequency, the thinking is that by intentionally generating them (through the aforementioned methods), the two frequencies combine, thus increasing the strength of our own alpha waves. Shouldn’t this in turn make us feel better and refreshed and in tune with the planet, like a form of environmental synchronization? Indeed, theories abound that since we (indeed, all Earth creatures) evolved in the figurative embrace of SR, somehow we must have incorporated it into our brainwaves, much in the way that animal blood plasma is chemically similar to seawater, since animals evolved in it.

Following from this: If humans are basically in tune with Earth’s natural electromagnetic frequencies, it stands to reason that disruptions of these frequencies may affect human health.

Circadian Rhythms and the Schumann Resonance

Scientist Rütger Wever researched the circadian rhythms of human beings (our ‘internal clock’), and how humans behave when placed in an environment in which they have no external time cues and are free to choose their own sleep/wake and light/dark schedules.

Working with fellow German researcher Jürgen Aschoff, Wever created an underground bunker to use as a laboratory in which human subjects could be shielded from any external time cues, including variations in light, temperature, electromagnetic fields – and the Schumann Resonance. Between 1964 and 1989, this bunker was used to conduct 418 studies on 447 human volunteers.

One of the key findings of these experiments was that when free to self-select their schedules, humans ran on an approximately 25-h day, and chose to go to bed at a much later circadian phase, resulting in a lengthening of the sleep/wake cycle period due to the delaying effects of light exposure at these nighttime circadian phases.

Another seminal finding that came out of the Andechs bunker experiments was the discovery that human sleep/wake cycles could desynchronize from the circadian rhythm of core body temperature, a phenomenon known as ‘Spontaneous Internal Desynchrony‘. Endocrine function, thyroid function, depression and other affective disorders manifested in the bunker subjects. However, when a machine that resonates at 7.83Hz was placed in the bunker, the subjects found that their malaise and illnesses disappeared or were alleviated.

Bees, Pollination, and SR

But humans aren’t the only ones affected by The Schumann Resonance – all animals are, too, including bees. To say that bees are a keystone species feels like a massive understatement. Without bees, the vast majority of food crops wouldn’t get pollinated, and we and every other species that rely on those crops for food, either directly or indirectly, would struggle for survival.

The effects of neonicotinoids and GMO’s on dwindling bee populations are well-documented. Yet there’s also a considered consensus that an overload of electromagnetic frequencies are jamming bees’ internal orientation, navigation and communication systems, for which they rely on the Earth’s natural magnetic field. As a result, bees are simply getting lost, unable to return to the hive, and dying off. Of course, Schumann Resonance signifies the Earth’s natural magnetic field; so in fact, the bees rely on SR for navigation. But all the geomagnetic disturbance or “electro smog” we produce (such as that from wireless technologies like cell phones and Bluetooth) has obscured SR, which may well be impacting the bees’ ability to navigate—to the detriment to all life on the planet.

Scientists also state that animals that migrate, from birds to whales, could be affected by even small changes in the Schumann Resonance.

Evolutionary Sense

Many studies have addressed the ideas that disrupting SR may impact human health, starting with L.B. Hainsworth’s pioneering research, which lent credence to previous hypotheses (like König’s) on the human health correlates of SR. Hainsworth recognized that the frequency of the dominant human brainwave rhythm (10.5Hz) and the average frequency at which there is minimal natural interference in the Earth-ionosphere cavity are identical. He understood that this shared frequency makes evolutionary sense, with the human brain operating on a “channel” jammed by minimal “noise.” Assuming our brains are sensitive to Schumann resonance signals, and that these signals have remained at consistent frequencies over evolutionary time, it’s fairly safe to accept the possibility (as Hainsworth and others have) that our central nervous system has evolved to rely on them to synchronize internal biorhythms.

Furthermore, any alteration or occlusion of these signals—as from electro smog—may cause a breakdown or blockage of this synchronization mechanism on which we rely, thus drowning out the health-promoting, possibly formative frequency of SR. Many people believe this is one reason for the putative increase in cancers and other diseases we have experienced over the last half-century. While evidence is growing that mobile phones may cause cancer, further study is required to determine more precise consequences of electro smog on human health.

But research on electromagnetic energy’s effects on human wellness offers more clarity. Since Hainsworth’s work three decades ago, multiple studies (such as this one and this one) have strengthened links between SR and other geomagnetic resonances and human health, cognitive function, emotions, and behavior. Some (e.g.) suggest that any de-synchronizing geomagnetic disruptions can interfere not only with sleep, mental equilibrium, and energy levels but also with brain, cardiovascular and autonomic nervous system function, circadian rhythm, hormonal secretions, and reproduction.

We Are Human Antennas

While the literature highlights these specific effects, the mechanism(s) accounting for how these effects actually occur isn’t fully understood. Theories abound, of course. One suggestion (e.g., here and here) is that extreme swings in solar-geomagnetic activity (as from solar flares or storms) may disrupt the brain’s levels of melatonin, a powerful antioxidant and hormone that plays a significant role in circadian rhythm regulation and immune system function.

Another intriguing possibility (explored here) concerns the ferrous mineral magnetite, which may transduce received magnetic energy into a nervous signal, thus facilitating the ability of electromagnetic radiation to produce biological effects in organisms. Multiple studies (e.g. here and here) have identified magnetite in human and other animal tissues, strengthening this theory.

Whatever the true nature of the relationship between SR and other ELF electromagnetic waves and human health, the best way to enhance our understanding of it may be through the kind of multidisciplinary approach that’s required to study interconnectedness. The study of interconnectivity is still in its infancy, not yet accepted by the mainstream scientific community. But it incorporates such disciplines as geosciences, astrophysics and human and animal studies.

As psychologist and author Louise Samways notes, the human body is like a radio transceiver connected to an aerial—it’s able to transmit and receive energy from the surrounding environment, and one of those radiant energy signals originates from Schumann Resonance, a frequency that evidently impacts our sense of time, bio-cycles, and our health. We should thus try to optimize our exposure to it by minimizing the amount of electro-smog to which we’re exposed.

At least we can rest easier knowing we’re in its warm, supportive embrace. But above all, it’s worth noting that we are connected to this small blue planet in myriad ways we’re only beginning to understand.

By Jody McCutcheon, originally posted on Eluxe Magazine (Partner)

Sources/Further Reading

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_ondas_shumann_2b.htm#Appendix

http://www.hedronlifesource.com/the-pulse-of-the-earth-and-why-you-need-to-know-it/

http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/316/341

https://mechanism.ucsd.edu/teaching/F11/philbiology2011/aschoff.circadianrhythmsinman.1965.pdf

http://media.withtank.com/4a1515f54f.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2656447/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11826883

http://www.nwbotanicals.org/oak/newphysics/schumann/schumann.htm

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2006RS003495/epdf

https://researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10182/3935/90_n1_EMR_Schumann_Resonance_paper_1.pdf?sequence=1

http://sedonanomalies.weebly.com/schumann-resonance.html

http://simplysleeping.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Human-Circadian-Rhythms-under-the-influence-of-Weak-Electric-Fields_-wever-1973.pdf

http://yadda.icm.edu.pl/baztech/element/bwmeta1.element.baztech-15380139-fd1e-42ed-8f75-cdaa3c981000/c/Persinger_schumann.pdf

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