285 Hz: the tone of renewal, free to play

What is 285 Hz

285 Hz is a tone that vibrates 285 times a second. In air its wave is 1.20 metres long.

It does not match any key of a piano. The nearest one is C♯4, the black key just above middle C, at 277.18 Hz. 285 Hz lies 48 cents above it, and a semitone has 100 cents, so the tone sits almost exactly between C♯4 and D4. No instrument in standard tuning can play it. A generator or a tuning fork can.

In the set of solfeggio frequencies 285 Hz is the second of the nine tones. It was not among the six numbers Joseph Puleo put forward in the 1970s: 174, 285 and 963 Hz were added later by other authors. For that reason it carries no syllable.

The number fits the pattern of the set. Its digits add up to 6: 2 + 8 + 5 = 15 and 1 + 5 = 6. Rearranged, the digits give 528 Hz and 852 Hz. And 285 Hz stands exactly 111 above 174 Hz and 111 below 396 Hz.

285 Hz for healing: what it is used for

In sound therapy 285 Hz is the tone of renewal. Practitioners use it for the renewal of tissue after injury and for restoring the energy field.

This is where the searches for 285 Hz healing come from. It describes a practice, not a medical result: a cut or a sprain needs ordinary care, and the tone is something you add to rest.

In practice people use 285 Hz in three ways.

• Rest during recovery. A quiet tone while lying down, when the body needs time.
• Meditation on the body. Attention moves slowly from the feet to the head while the tone plays.
• A soft start. People who find the higher tones sharp begin with 285 Hz or 174 Hz.

285 Hz chakra: which one is it

None of the seven. Practitioners assign the seven chakras to the seven tones from 396 Hz to 963 Hz, one tone for each. 285 Hz and 174 Hz lie below that row.

285 Hz is sometimes linked with the energy field as a whole, and 174 Hz is described as a base below the root.

So if you want to work through the chakras one by one, start with 396 Hz. 285 Hz is for the body as a whole.

285 Hz benefits: what research exists

No controlled studies in people have tested 285 Hz on its own. The benefits listed for it come from the tradition of sound therapy.

Research exists for 528 Hz, the tone made of the same digits. In a small Japanese study nine healthy adults listened for five minutes to soothing piano music tuned to 528 Hz: cortisol in saliva fell and oxytocin rose, while the same kind of music tuned to 440 Hz brought no significant change. In a trial in India 60 patients with stage 1 hypertension were divided into two groups. One listened every day for a month to OM chanting composed at 528 Hz. Their pulse and blood pressure went down and their sleep improved. The control group listened to nothing, so the trial cannot separate the frequency from the habit of daily quiet listening.

Research also exists for music as such. A review of 104 randomised trials with 9,617 participants found that music interventions reduce stress, with a medium effect on psychological outcomes and a smaller one on physiological outcomes, largest in the heart rate.

For 285 Hz this means: the calming effect of quiet listening has been measured, and the meaning of the tone comes from the tradition.

285 Hz generator: how to listen

The generator on this page makes the tone in your browser: a pure sine tone at exactly 285 Hz. For this tone that matters, because no piano key can give it to you.

• Turn the volume of your device down, choose 285 Hz and press Play.
• Raise the volume until you can just hear the tone.
• Sit comfortably or lie down and close your eyes.
• Breathe slowly: in for a count of four, out for a count of six.
• Start with the 5-minute timer. When that feels comfortable, move to 15 minutes.
• If the tone feels bare, switch on the brown noise background.

The slider sets any frequency from 100 to 1000 Hz, and the generator shows the nearest note and the distance to it in cents. Move the slider a little below and above 285 Hz to hear how close the two neighbouring keys are.

Headphones are needed only when you add a binaural beat.

285 Hz for rest and for sleep

285 Hz is not one of the tones sound therapy names for sleep; those are 174 Hz and 528 Hz. But it is low and far from piercing, so you can use it in the evening as well as for a rest during the day. The two sessions differ in the beat and the timer.

The beat needs headphones. If they disturb you in bed, leave the beat out and play the tone through a speaker at arm's length from the pillow.

The page about binaural beats for sleep describes the delta beat in detail.

285 Hz with binaural beats

A binaural beat needs two tones below 1000 Hz, so every solfeggio tone can serve as the carrier. With 285 Hz the left ear hears 285 Hz and the right ear a tone 2, 6 or 10 Hz higher.

The two parts do different jobs. The tone is chosen for what it means in the tradition. The beat is chosen for its rhythm, and beats are the part that has been measured: a meta-analysis of 22 studies found a medium overall effect on memory, attention, anxiety and pain perception.

• Delta, 2 Hz: 285 Hz and 287 Hz. For the evening.
• Theta, 6 Hz: 285 Hz and 291 Hz. For deep rest and meditation on the body.
• Alpha, 10 Hz: 285 Hz and 295 Hz. For a calm break during the day.

Use headphones, do not listen while driving, and if you have epilepsy talk to your doctor first.

285 Hz pure tone or music

With most solfeggio tones you can choose between a pure tone and music tuned to it. With 285 Hz the pure tone is the natural choice, because the tone lies between two keys. Music in 285 Hz has to be retuned by almost a quarter of a tone so that one of its notes falls on 285 Hz.

A pure tone is more tiring than music at the same volume. Keep sessions with the bare tone short, 5 to 15 minutes. For longer listening add the brown noise background or choose quiet music tuned to the tone.

285 Hz tuning fork: how to use it

A tuning fork is the simplest way to hear 285 Hz without a device. The forks are sold singly and in sets of nine.

• Strike the fork on a rubber activator or on the knee. Never strike it on a hard surface: metal on metal damages the fork and adds overtones.
• An unweighted fork gives a clear tone in the air. Hold it a few centimetres from the ear.
• A weighted fork, with discs on the prongs, vibrates more strongly. Place its stem on the body.
• Wait until the sound fades, 20 to 40 seconds, then strike again. Three to five rounds are enough.

Where to place it: the tradition links 285 Hz with the energy field, not with one point on the body. An unweighted fork held in the air near the body fits the tone better than a fixed point. With a weighted fork choose a bony spot near the area you want to rest, never a wound or a fresh injury.

For a session longer than a minute use the generator. It holds the tone as long as you like and lets you add a beat or a background.

Is 285 Hz safe: risks and side effects

No study has described a harm specific to a solfeggio frequency, 285 Hz included. What harms hearing is loudness and duration. The World Health Organization considers sound of up to 80 dB safe for 40 hours a week.

285 Hz is one of the two lowest tones of the set. People with tinnitus or sensitivity to sound should start with the low tones, 174 Hz or 285 Hz, at a very low volume.

Side effects, when they appear, come from the way of listening. A pure tone tires the ear sooner than music. Headache, irritation or ringing in the ears are signs to lower the volume or stop.

The tradition speaks of injury, so one more point belongs here: the tone does not replace treatment. If an injury hurts, swells or does not get better, see a doctor.

285 Hz compared with 174 Hz and 396 Hz

285 Hz stands in the middle of the first three tones, 111 above 174 Hz and 111 below 396 Hz.

In the tradition 174 Hz and 285 Hz are about the body, and 396 Hz turns to feelings. Each tone has its own page, and the page about solfeggio frequencies shows all nine in one chart.