How do Binaural beats affect the brain?
When your brain hears two musical notes that are quite similar, it also hears a third. This third note is the difference between those 2 other notes- this is called a ‘beat’.
Notes are measured in Hz, which means the number of vibrations a second. The higher the number the more high pitched a note sounds, the lower the more low or bass-y it is.
So if one of the notes is at 250hz and another at 251hz you will hear a third ‘beat’ note at 1 hz.
Listen to the audio to hear it happening
If the brain is fed one note into the right ear and the other into the left, it will hear the third ‘beat’ note in the middle of your head- this is called a binaural (2 ear) beat.
Research shows that if that third note is between 1 and 10 hz it has a powerful positive effect on the brain because the brain waves are also between 1-10hz.
You can hear an example below and get the longer audio programme here
Do binaural beats actually work?
The Research:
If it all sounds a bit far fetched then you’ll be please to know that there has been extensive research undertaken into using binaural beats for improving various issues. These include:
