Binaural Beats
The Rhythm Your Brain Can Follow
A simple tone in each ear. A subtle rhythm in your brain. Binaural beats are a gentle, sound-based way to guide your brain toward calm, focus, or rest — by syncing brainwaves to specific frequencies.
What Are Binaural Beats?
Binaural beats occur when you listen to two slightly different frequencies in each ear—say, 29 Hz in the left and 20 Hz in the right. Your brain perceives the difference (9 Hz) as a rhythmic beat, even though that frequency isn't physically present.
That beat can influence your brain’s electrical activity, encouraging it to synchronize—or "entrain"—to a desired state like alpha (calm) or theta (inner stillness). It’s a subtle way of nudging your mental state through sound.
Why It Matters
Every brain state has a rhythm. High beta for stress and focus. Alpha for creativity and emotional fluidity. Delta and theta for deep restoration and subconscious integration.
Binaural beats aim to gently shift your dominant brainwave toward a desired frequency — supporting:
- Mental clarity
- Emotional regulation
- Sleep and recovery
- Creative flow
How They're Used
You’ll find binaural beats in meditation apps, sleep tracks, and focus playlists. Most commonly, they target specific frequencies based on brainwave bands and desired effect. For example, gamma for clarity, connecting the disconnected and epiphanies.
Your Brain’s Tuning Fork
Think of binaural beats like a tuning fork for your brain. Just as a tuning fork brings an instrument back into harmony, binaural beats can help your mind settle into a desired rhythm. You don’t have to concentrate or "do" anything—they simply support your brain’s natural tendency to synchronize.
To be effective, you need headphones—each ear must receive its own frequency. Ambient soundscapes or gentle music often overlay the tones for a soothing experience. When done skillfully, they can be stacked with other neuromodulation, such as transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), and meditations for an amplified experience.