However, research is inconclusive about the clinical benefits, so it’s not a replacement for typical anxiety treatments. Other studies show that binaural beats may benefit patients experiencing anxiety before surgery. In one small study, people had a 26% drop in anxiety symptoms after listening to binaural beats for at least 20 minutes daily for two weeks in combination with therapy. What does research say about binaural beats for anxiety? Keep in mind, much is still unknown about this therapy, so binaural beats are not recommended for anyone who has suffered seizures or has a pacemaker or other heart problems, pregnant women, kids, or those operating heavy machinery. However, know that sometimes an audio file is compressed to the point that it loses its effect, so you may want to ask your therapist if they can recommend specific binaural beat audio tracks that have worked for other patients. How do I know what to listen to?Īudio tracks with binaural beats are easy to find online, and there are also CDs available. Some folks play binaural beats during meditation or before sleep too. You don’t have to close your eyes, but many people do. Patients tend to listen to them with earphones in a place without distractions for at least 30 minutes.

These beats create shifts in brain waves that affect mood and cognition, so you can choose an audio track that will result in a frequency that produces an effect like less anxiety, better REM sleep or concentration, more creativity, or greater alertness.

Some musical tracks are designed to create specific binaural beats in your brain when you listen to them, even though they just sound like calming tunes. For example, if your left ear receives a frequency of 100 Hz and your right ear receives 90 Hz, your brain perceives a binaural beat of 10 Hz. The difference between those two frequencies is the binaural beat-a pulse in your brain that your conscious mind is unaware of. What are binaural beats, exactly?įor starters, it’s helpful to know that in everyday life, the left and right ear receive slightly different frequencies of sound, but the brain registers them as a single noise. They’re called binaural beats-and here, Brian Wind, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and the chief clinical officer at addiction treatment center Journey Pure, explains how they work. We’re not talking about any old beats, but ones some therapists are using as a form of sound-wave therapy to help their patients combat anxiety.

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