
A similar process happens when we listen to music, drumming, or chanting and explains why some music can be so powerful in affecting how we feel.īinaural soundtracks only work to entrain brainwaves if the two auditory tones produce a beat in the range of human brainwave frequencies, which in most cases is between 0.5 and 30 Hz.įor example, if your left ear hears a tone with a frequency of 300 Hz and your right ear hears a tone of 314 Hz, your mind will perceive a beat of the difference between these two numbers, a pulsing tone of 14 Hz. This pulsing tone then causes your brain waves to synchronize with the frequency of the perceived, illusory sound in a process known as frequency following response. The binaural pulse is actually a mental illusion and state of mind and not a real auditory sound being heard by your ears. When you put on a set of headphones and listen to a binaural beat soundtrack, the two separate tones delivered to your ears become one beat frequency inside the auditory center in your mid-brain, resulting in a third, pulsing tone which is the actual binaural beat. Hz is merely an abbreviation for the word hertz, a unit of measurement of electrical vibration measured in oscillations per second. These separate tones are known as the carrier frequencies or carrier tones.įor the binaural tone to be perceived in the mind, the carrier tones must be of the same amplitude and differ from one another by approximately 40 Hz or less in frequency. This research continues to this day.īinaural literally means “two ears,” and this refers to the fact that binaural pulses involve separate tones heard by each ear. Oster published his findings in a paper in the science journal Scientific American, leading to an avalanche of further research and discoveries on the neuroscience of how listening to binaural tones can affect the mind, mood, and behavior of human beings. Oster explored the nature and uses of binaural sounds, discovering that when the difference in frequency between the two tones is in the range of human brain waves, the listener’s brain waves synchronize with this frequency in a process known as brain wave entrainment. In 1973, an American psychology researcher named Gerald Oster rekindled Dove’s discovery and took it to the next level. This phenomenon was first discovered in 1839 by a German scientist named Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, although the uses and benefits of Dove’s discovery remained unappreciated until the 1970s. Binaural beat technology allows the listener to achieve a specific, desired state of mind and a desired mental or physiological effect. It’s worth noting that I do listen to binaural beats while doing my evening routine with MoveWell to wind down before sleep.A binaural beat is a pulsing sound perceived in the mind when each ear hears a separate tone of two slightly differing frequencies. There needs to be more experimentation with all of this stuff. That said, if it works for you – let me know.

Best free binaural beats generator#
So, it could potentially work if you’re planning on falling asleep immediately (and using the beats to jump-start your lucid dreaming), but if you need longer to fall asleep, you might find binaural beats unhelpful & might want to stick to your white noise generator instead. While the beats might help you be more creative, they may not help the sleep part of the equation. If you’re looking to combine binaural beats with lucid dreaming, you may be disappointed. You can dig into the nitty gritty of the science & studies at the links & content below.

These beats have long been used in meditation, sleep and relaxation. That said, it’s pretty consistent across the board that studies show increased levels of productivity in creative tasks (although they do have different effects on different people – so your mileage may vary). Great question – it’s a new area of work, so there’s only a few studies on it (and needs to be a lot more). This tone is the “beat” and various “binaural beat tracks” are designed to help you tackle certain tasks more effectively (work, healing, mood, etc). Because of the difference in frequencies, the brain perceives a third tone. How Do Binaural Beats Work?īinaural means “to hear with two ears.” What happens is a “brain illusion.” Two different tones are transmitted to each ear at different frequencies.

They’re frequently considered to be useful in creative projects, improving productivity, as well as meditation and therapy. Binaural beats are a sound wave that creates the illusion in your brain of a “beat” due to the frequencies they’re transmitted at.
