‘Binaural beats’ debunked: These apps offer cool marketing, but iffy health effects

Optical illusions mess with how we see things. “Binaural beats,” a type of auditory illusion, mess with how we hear things—and may play tricks in other ways, too.

Photo credit: Darekm135 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Photo credit: Darekm135 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

An odd thing happens when you listen through headphones to two steady tones at slightly different frequencies, one in each ear. You start to hear a low beat that sounds like it’s coming from inside your head. But this third sound is just a figment of your brain’s auditory system. A phantom pulse.

What’s up with that? Scientists have known for decades that our brainwaves tend to synchronize, or “entrain,” with the rhythms we hear. In theory, slightly mismatched tones may confuse the brain. If one ear picks up a tone at 550 Hertz, while the other hears 558 Hertz, the brain will perceive a third frequency—binaural beats—at the points where the sine waves bump together.

Researchers haven’t fully studied binaural beats, let alone the possible health effects. But that hasn’t stopped an overkill of apps from marketing them as “digital drugs” with the power to relieve migraines, sharpen mental focus and blast away stress.

Even Bayer, maker of Aspirin, promotes binaural beats as “good vibes” for relaxation on its Austrian website.

So far, however, the evidence of any health benefits is thin.

So far, the evidence of any health benefits from binaural beats is thin

The latest study to poke holes in the hype comes from an international team led by scientists at the Montreal-based Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research.

In the study, published this week in eNeuro, healthy adults wore head caps with electrodes for monitoring brainwaves using electroencephalography (EEG).

First, they listened to a series of binaural beat frequencies. Next, the same volunteers listened to frequencies mixed on a computer to create a third beat before the sound reached the ears. In this case, the third beat was part of the audio mix (and not an illusion).

After each session, the listeners rated their levels of mental relaxation, alertness and feelings of absorption in the experience.

The researchers found that binaural beats did entrain the brain—but not as much as the premixed beats. What’s more, neither had any effect on mood. A previous study, published in 2017, reached similar conclusions.

This didn’t surprise me. The mood-boosting effects of music, based on a large body of research, stem from the brain’s pleasure and reward response to our favorite sounds. Binaural beat apps use computer-generated frequencies, many of which sound only vaguely like music.

The Montreal study, to be fair, involved just 16 participants and listening sessions of eight minutes each. Chances are this study won’t put the nail in the coffin for binaural-beat diehards.

Whether binaural beats can cause a “high” remains debatable, but the power of suggestion can be intense

Digital drugs have a cult following online. Teens have posted YouTube videos of themselves “getting high” on audio tracks. Reviewers on iDoser’s website have raved about the trippy experiences they’ve had. Whether binaural beats can cause a “high” remains debatable, but the power of suggestion can be intense.

And some studies have shown possible benefits. A 2018 analysis of 22 studies concluded that binaural beats may help lower anxiety and offer modest pain relief.

Behavioral studies, however, tend to search for specific effects, such as relaxation. This approach can bias the results, noted Joydeep Bhattacharya, a cognitive psychologist who has studied the neuroscience of music. Binaural beats, he said, in an interview with Discover magazine, “raise a lot of flags.”

The few studies that have used brain imaging to understand what’s happening during binaural beats have produced inconclusive results, he pointed out. “That gives you a good indication that the story is more complicated than many of the behavioral studies want to convince you.”

Until more research is done, our best bet might be to see this phenomenon as a quirk of our gray matter—a bit of mischief from the proverbial ghost in the machine.

Disclaimer: Discussions about health topics provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment. The author accepts no responsibility or liability for any health consequences relating to information published on this blog.

The secret behind fast-paced music, AKA the “legal performance enhancing drug”

You’ll never find a silent spin class—let alone Zumba. Fitness instructors intuitively know that peppy music puts a spring in our step.

Now we have science to prove it.

Is music giving her the edge? Runner with headphones at Marathon Rotterdam 2015. Photo credit: Peter van der Sluijs, Wikimedia Commons

Is music giving her the edge? Runner with headphones at Marathon Rotterdam 2015. Photo credit: Peter van der Sluijs, Wikimedia Commons

In a new study in Frontiers in Psychology, fast-paced music made exercise easier—and helped women work up a sweat.

For the study, a small group of volunteers exercised either in silence, or to pop music at three different tempos: 90 to 110 beats per minute (bpm), 130 to 150 bpm, or 170 to 190 bpm.

Some of the women walked on a treadmill, while others did leg presses. During each session, sport scientists recorded the women’s heart rates and asked them to report how much effort their workouts required.

“Listening to high-tempo music while exercising resulted in the highest heart rate and lowest perceived exertion”

After crunching the numbers, the researchers noticed a trend:

“Listening to high-tempo music while exercising resulted in the highest heart rate and lowest perceived exertion,” said Luca P. Ardigò, a sport scientist at the University of Verona, Italy.

The effect was greatest for women on treadmills, compared to those using weights. The takeaway: Exercisers doing endurance activities, such as walking or running, may get the biggest bang from upbeat music.

The study’s sample size was tiny—19 women total—and didn’t include men. Nevertheless, the findings echoed a recent systematic review from the University of Southern Queensland in Australia.

The Australian researchers combed through 139 studies on music in exercise and sport—in both men and women—and came up with four key findings:

  1. Music makes exercise more enjoyable

  2. Music reduces perceived effort

  3. Music improves physical performance

  4. Music increases blood flow and reduces the oxygen intake needed to exercise at the same intensity without music

“No one would be surprised that music helps people feel more positive during exercise,” said Peter Terry, dean of graduate research and innovation at the University of Southern Queensland. But, he added in a news release, “the fact that music provided a significant boost to performance would surprise some people.”

Faster music—at least 120 beats per minute—offered more benefits than slower music

Like the Italian study, Terry and colleagues found that faster music—at least 120 beats per minute—offered more benefits than slower music.

What’s more, exercising to the beat offered the greatest gains.

Music has been described as a “legal performance enhancing drug.”

How could this be? Human brainwaves tend to synchronize with any steady tempo we hear, including brain regions involved in core functions such as heart rate, breathing and blood pressure.

Tunes for training: author Costas Karageorghis, professor of sport and exercise psychology at Brunel University London, explores evidence-based practices in his 2016 book

Tunes for training: author Costas Karageorghis, professor of sport and exercise psychology at Brunel University London, explores evidence-based practices in his 2016 book

So, if you want a leg up in your next triathlon or 10K, try listening to fast-paced tunes. But first, check the rules: Some competitions discourage, or even ban, the use of portable music devices for safety and performance reasons. The Boston Marathon allows headsets, “except for those participants who declare themselves eligible for prize money.”

Playlists arranged by tempo are easy to find. (A 120 bpm playlist on Spotify kicks off with the Glee favorite, “Don’t Stop Believin’.”)

Just don’t crank up the volume. Noise levels at indoor cycling studios often reach 100 decibels or more—enough, with repeat exposure, to cause long-term hearing loss.

Wear earplugs, ask the gym to turn the music down (or take your business elsewhere).

Disclaimer: Discussions about health topics provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment. The author accepts no responsibility or liability for any health consequences relating to information published on this blog.