Binaural beats and music for anxiety management: a rapid review and implications for music therapy practice

Abstract

Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the general population. Symptoms of anxiety in individuals may develop into behavioral, physiological, and cognitive changes that can impair their daily lives. Binaural beats occur when the brain perceives the difference between two frequencies that were exposed separately to each ear. The brain synchronizes with the perceived frequency, the binaural beat. Various benefits can occur for the listener, depending on the frequency of the binaural beats. This rapid review synthesizes existing research on how binaural beats have been used to help individuals manage their anxiety symptoms including: the effectiveness, frequencies, carrier tones, dosages, and settings. This review will discuss the implications and considerations of binaural beats as interventions within the music therapy profession. A total of fifteen studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Binaural beats were shown to be effective in reducing anxiety in 87% of the studies with 53% showing significant reduction in anxiety and 27% showing a statistically significant reduction in anxiety. The findings suggest that using lower frequencies; delta, theta, or alpha wave binaural beats for 10 minutes, is effective in various medical settings to lower pre-procedural anxiety. Keywords: Binaural beats, Binaural beat stimulation, Anxiety.