Positive effects of a beta-frequency binaural beats programme on memory

ABSTRACT

This study explored whether listening to a publicly available binaural beats programme while learning new material may impact memory. Undergraduate students (46 women, 29 men) first completed measures of verbal learning ability, preexisting knowledge, and mood. Afterward, they spent 20 min reading and reviewing a passage about sleep disorders, either in silence or while listening via headphones to a beta-frequency or theta-frequency binaural beats programme from the Brain Wave app by Banzai Labs. Finally, participants completed the mood measure again, followed by a 15-item multiple-choice test over the passage. The groups did not differ on verbal learning ability, preexisting knowledge, or mood, but they did differ on test score, with the beta-frequencies group having greater test scores than the theta-frequencies group and control group; the latter two groups did not differ. These findings suggest that learning may be enhanced with the use of this “Memory Boost” binaural beats programme.

KEYWORDS:

• : Binaural beats
• beta frequencies
• memory
• retention

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. None of the authors are involved with Banzai Labs or have any relationships with people who stand to profit from the company.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in the study involving human participants were approved by the Texas State University Institutional Review Board and have therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

Informed consent

All participants gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study.

Availability of data

The anonymous data file for the study is available at https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/147461/version/V1/view.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of this article.