Q&A: Binaural Beats

For a reason I am not aware of, this post about binaural beats is one of the most visited and commented posts on my blog. I also recently receive some questions about the topic. Recently, I received the following question.

Hi Eva
I read your comment in this page : http://phdtalk.blogspot.ch/2014/01/silver-linings-binaural-beats-for-study.html
i want to use this waves for focus and study .
you are started with which wave ?
and how to use this waves?
please send me links or file of this waves.


As I've mentioned before, I'm not too convinced of the "scientific" explanations behind the working of binaural beats. I used them in the past for writing my thesis, more as an alternative to white noise, whereas nowadays I mostly work with music.

By no means do I claim to be an expert on the topic. I just happen to have tried out binaural beats a few times, and more than anything, I like the ritual of opening a document for writing, starting a track with binaural beats, and then writing for the duration of the track. I particularly liked tracks that last an hour, giving me an hour of undisturbed writing time. The idea, however, is not much different from using a Pomodoro timer, and for me, I think the fact that I am committing to write for the length of time that the track takes to play, is what really gets me going.

If you want to try it for yourself, here are some videos you may want to try out. I'm not promising miracles, but it is something that may work for you, as it did for me at the time in my life, now four years ago, that I used these tracks for writing.

Interview about binaural beats

Oddly enough, one of the posts on this blog that keeps attracting a lot of visitors is my post on the use of binaural beats for studying and writing.

Based on this post, I was recently interviewed by Cynthia Liza Gregoire from London. She compiled this interview and other interviews in a podcast, and wrote a blog post about it.

As I explained in the interview, I haven't been using binaural beats that much anymore. I used them when I needed to go through long session of writing when finishing my dissertation, but by now I've mostly switched to listening to music. Either I listen to one of my favorite CDs (as long as it does not have distracting lyrics), or to one of the CDs that I am currently reviewing for Darkview.

Silver Linings: Binaural Beats for Study and Writing

For some time now, I've been using binaural beats to help me focus while I am writing. I am not convinced that the binaural beats themselves help me focus, but for some reason the ritual of putting a binaural track, taking my headphones and committing to finish something makes my productivity soar.

The "science" behind the effect of binaural beats seems to be incomplete at most, and very often fishy. Most likely, using a white noise generator would give me the same results - and I don't think I'm experiencing anything else than a placebo effect.

Nonetheless - when I really need to start cranking out a lot of words, and music makes me irritable because I start to listen to the lyrics or decipher the notes that every instrument is playing, I use these binaural beats to reach a state of elevated focus.

With that said, and -hopefully- convincing you guys that I'm not the person to take any spiriwiri mumbojumbo that has not passed some rigorous testing and that is back by Good Science, I would like to invite you to try out binaural beats and see if they help your study and writing too (or a white noise generator sound).

What are binaural beats?
Binaural beats result when two nearly similar frequencies are played in each ear when you are listening to headphones. Your brain will process this information, and you will "hear" a third frequency. For example, when one ear hears 100Hz and the other ear 110Hz, you will hear 10Hz as a result.

What do binaural beats do
According to the alternative medicine community, if you hear this 10Hz difference, your brain waves will increase by 10Hz too. Because there are different frequencies of the brainwaves, it is said that the binaural beat that you hear, can induce a certain state of mind.

Benefit of binaural tracks
Binaural tracks are similar to white noise generators, although they seem to have a little more variation to themselves. I quite like the binaural tracks that are combined with sounds of running water. Since most tracks on YouTube are either 30 minutes or an hour long, you can commit to finishing a certain task within half an hour or an hour, take your headphones, switch on the track and finish it before the track ends.
It's a trick you are playing on your mind, but one that you might like to try out and see if it improves your productivity, for example with this track"



Have you tried using binaural beats during study or writing? How is your experience?