I-Dosing Uncovered

Brands like I-Doser.com have reached international fame, where people call the process of simulating a mood or experience “I-Dosing.” While most news sources spread scare tactics (see my article on digital drugs), I’m glad their are news sources that report the truth. Let’s undercover the popular pastime of I-Dosing…

Reprint from Asylum.com: If you haven’t heard of it yet, i-dosing is an increasingly popular “digital drug,” which supposedly gets you high without the use of any of those old-fashioned and totally played-out narcotics.

The theory goes a little something like this: Put on a pair of headphones and begin listening to a brainwave synchronizer (available at i-doser.com). After a few minutes of concentrating on the sounds, the listener will begin feeling sensations akin to heroin use, pot smoking or even orgasms (ka-ching!).

Of course, this new e-phenomenon is already responsible for angsty editorials from parents concerned that the sites will lead teenagers to illegal drugs.

Inquisitive by nature, Asylum decided to scope this i-dosing business out to see if — and how — it works, as well as why it’s taking the Internet by storm. We even spoke to a few brave souls who endured a session of listening to the “brainwave software” and an expert who actually knows what he’s talking about.

Yes, It Works

“Binaural Beats are one of the most popular forms of i-dosing and, yes, they work,” says James Nestor, author of “Get High Now (Without Drugs).” “They’ve been around since 1839 and have been stumping scientists ever since. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies show that after extended listening of binaural beats, a physiological change takes place in the brain in which the two hemispheres of the brain begin to synchronize,” he continues. “Women hear the binaural beats at different tones as they progress through their menstrual cycles. People with Parkinson’s can’t hear them at all. This wouldn’t happen if they weren’t affecting our brains in some way.”

Before flocking to your nearest digital drug dealer, think about this: Remember that time you spun yourself in circles to feel all loopy? And what about babies who are lulled to sleep by simple rocking? Or runners who run just to feel that coveted “runner’s high”?

Nestor, an expert in neurology, biology and physiology, explains: “The simplest of exercises gets people inextricably high, flooding their bodies with good-feeling hormones and neurotransmitters, like dopamine and serotonin.” i-dosing is similar to this, he tells us, though this e-drug takes a more meditation-like route.” By entrancing the brainwaves, binaural beats help lull the brain into sleep, relaxation, wakeful and other states,” says Nestor. “It all depends on which frequency you’re attuned to as well as your level of concentration and will.”

Putting It to the Test

Sounds good in theory, but does it actually work? According to Ray Pawulich, a San Francisco resident, it does. In fact, he remembers his i-dosing experience well.

“It was uncomfortable and mildly nauseating,” the 29-year-old tells us. “I don’t recall it making me and my friends feel particularly awake or alert, but it did leave us feeling strung-out for a couple days.” He goes on, “It’s definitely not the kind of thing where you listen to a sound for a second and suddenly you feel alert, rested, creative or euphoric. You have to put yourself in the right frame of mind, close out other stimuli, and get out of your head a little bit.”

But not everyone is lucky enough to feel the zany effects of this peculiar “drug.” Take Jamie Bowman, for example.

“I tried i-dosing after seeing a ridiculous newscast that was claiming that use of it could lead to use of real drugs,” she tells us. “I did not feel anything at all, but I am a bit impatient and didn’t sit through the whole thing.” (His biggest failure, and the reason it didn’t work: he didn’t listen to the whole sequence).

But What About the Children?

“When I was a kid, we tried smoking banana peels, thinking it would get us high. If this is what my kids want to try to get ‘high’ off of, then I really have it made pretty easy. I’ll leave my parental worrying to things that truly can harm them.”