Binaural beats calm my anxious, ADHD brain, but is there any science to it?

Scroll through TikTok and you’ll see binaural beats recommended for everything from stress, to sleep, to super-focus time.

I get it. Every time I put this kind of audio on through my cans, I feel myself soften. One particular track helps me out of a mid-afternoon slump; another seems to calm me down when I’m spiralling. And sometimes I just pick one at random and let it lull me into a state of binaural bliss.

So I know this type of audio helps me – but I also know I’m highly suggestible. So I started to wonder: am I simply just enjoying the soothing effect of sound? Is it a placebo effect? Or is something real happening in my ears, my brain and my mood –and crucially, is it something that science backs up?

What are binaural beats?

Binaural beats aren’t a type of music. They’re more of a brain trick.

Martin Whiteman, a musician, producer, recording engineer and Director and Lead Engineer at Brickwork Studios (a professional recording, mixing and mastering studio in the UK) explains: “Binaural beats occur when two tones at different frequencies are played exclusively to each ear.”

Essentially, if you're fed a 200Hz tone in one ear and a 210Hz tone in the other, your brain doesn’t register both separately. Instead, it creates the illusion of a third sound. In this case, it would be 10Hz.

Whiteman explains that because humans can only actually hear down to about 20Hz, “A 10Hz oscillation wouldn’t be heard as a new tone, but as a modulation of the existing tones.”

That’s why we experience binaural beats as a soft pulsing or wobble. It’s essentially our brains highlighting the difference between the two frequencies and offering a resolution.

So that pulsing doesn’t actually exist in the sound we're being fed itself, it’s generated in your brain. Researchers think this internal 'beat' can gently guide your brainwaves into patterns linked with relaxation, focus or sleep.

What does the science say about binaural beats?

Anecdotally, people swear by binaural beats. On TikTok, people claim they help improve focus, attention and mood during the day. Some people say they alleviate migraine symptoms. And plenty of others say they're simply relaxing, sometimes inducing pleasurable states and whole-body tingles.

My friend Jen Gilbert, Knowledge Exchanger Manager at The University of Sheffield, tells me she uses them at night: “I don't get the massive 'braingasm' rush people talk about or anything out of the ordinary, but I do drift off easily with them on.”

The research results are mixed, but there are some promising signs that would back up these experiences. A 2023 meta analysis found a boost in memory and attention when listening to binaural beats. While a 2024 review linked them to reduced anxiety and depression.

One of the strongest early indicators of the results of listening to it comes from a 2005 trial with surgical patients. Those who listened to binaural beats saw a 26% drop in pre-operation anxiety, compared with just 11% for music and 3% for no sound. It suggests this kind of audio has a genuine calming impact, especially in high stress scenarios.

But not all research is as clear cut. A 2020 study using EEG (scalp sensors to track brain activity) tested both binaural and monaural beats. Binaural beats are generated in the brain, whereas monaural beats are built into the sound before it reaches you. The results showed both could sync with brain waves, but monaural beats triggered stronger responses, and neither of them impacted mood.

Other research suggests the effects depend on specifics. Like gamma-frequency beats paired with white noise to increase attention. Or listening to binaural beats at 6 Hz daily for just ten minutes for better focus rather than playing all the time.

Whiteman acknowledges more tests need to be done, but remains cautious: “I'm sceptical of the health benefits. I suspect the benefits some experience may be more about the fact they made time to ‘switch off’ from daily life to listen to binaural beats for 30 minutes.”

This certainly rings true for me. Making the conscious decision to step away from my laptop, putting on some of the best headphones TechRadar's tested, choosing a track and carving out some down time is its own form of relaxation therapy and self care, whatever the science says.

Gilbert agrees: “I have a nighttime routine involving some breathing exercises, reading and listening to binaural beats. It helps switch off, but maybe it is more the ritual than the sounds themselves? Hard to say.”

How to use binaural beats

If you want to see if you can benefit from binaural beats, all you really need is a pair of headphones.

“For the effect to be strongest, each individual tone should only reach the ear it is intended for,” Whiteman tells me. “It’s why headphones work much better than loudspeakers. With loudspeakers your left ear can hear a significant amount of sound coming from the right speaker and vice versa.”

Obviously, I write about audio tech, so you’d expect me to say a pair of comfortable, noise-cancelling headphones would be the best choice – I’m still obsessed with the Bose QuietComfort – but any headphones should give you the same effect.

Then just pick a track on Spotify, YouTube, or your other music or meditation app of choice. General advice is to listen for 10 to 30 minutes in a quiet place, though some people use them all night or all day while working.

You’ll see them labelled by frequency with each range linked to different states:

• Delta (1 - 4 Hz): deep sleep, relaxation
• Theta (4 - 8 Hz): meditation, creativity, reduced anxiety
• Alpha (8 - 13 Hz): calm focus, positivity
• Beta (14 - 30 Hz): alertness, concentration
• Gamma (40 Hz): learning, memory

It’s not the same thing, but it’s a similar idea to listening to different “noise colors” – using different sounds like brown noise and green noise to influence your mental state. We’ve covered that before, and why white noise makes you sleepy, in our science of noise colors guide.

So, are binaural beats a miracle cure for depression and anxiety? Not quite. The evidence is still patchy. But they’re certainly not just a TikTok trend either.

Between some promising studies, fascinating brain science and the simple ritual of intentionally switching off every so often, it’s easy to see why so many of us feel something when we listen.