What are binaural beats? What do they do? How do they work?
In 1839, Heinrich Wilhelm Dove discovered that playing a specific tone in one ear, and a slightly different tone in the other ear, created a pulsating or wobbling sound.
Here’s a short video that demonstrates the effect:
(Of course, Professor Dove used tuning forks, not computer-generated sounds, but the effect was the same!)
What do binaural beats do?
Binaural beats are shown to have a direct influence on brainwaves, allowing the listener to experience different states such as:
- Deep sleep
- Deep meditation
- Relaxation
- Being in the “creative zone”
- Super-learning
- Deep focus
- Alertness.
How do they work?
In the example above, you heard the binaural tone of 3 beats per second. This is a result of your brain (both right and left sides) processing the sound and mixing the audio together.
If you listen to these beats for a few minutes, your brain will synchronize with the beat and start producing more Delta waves.
Here’s a quick explanation of the various states:
| Name | Frequency | Result (when awake) | Result (when sleeping) |
| Delta | 0-3.9 Hz | Deep meditation | Deep dreamless sleep, growth hormone release |
| Theta | 4-7.9 Hz | Meditation, “creative zone” | Sleep stages 1 & 2 |
| Alpha | 8-12.9 Hz | Relaxation, learning | |
| Beta | 13-40 Hz | Alertness; feelings of being busy or stressed | |
| Gamma | 40 Hz+ | Many theories; more research required | |
Important:
To experience binaural beats, you MUST wear headphones!
If you play a binaural beat track through regular speakers:
- Worst case: you may not hear anything at all (especially if using phone or tablet speakers).
- Best case: you’ll hear an acoustic beat, not a binaural beat. The sounds will be mixed before they enter your brain.
More Info
I’ve produced a short series of videos to explain binaural beats, their pros and cons, and various myths associated with the brain. You can watch the first video here.