Diving into Binaural Beat Meditation: An EEG-Based Evaluation of User Experience

Binaural beats, an auditory illusion, increased the occurrence of a theta-alpha dominant frequency ratio in the range 1.3-1.8 in EEG signals during meditation, and this correlated with reduced mind wandering. User mindfulness was positively correlated with cross-frequency coupling. These results help evaluate the suitability of binaural beats for meditation and clarify how they function in the brain.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Audio stimuli have been used to support awareness of mind wandering and mindfulness during meditation. Binaural beats, an auditory illusion, have attracted significant research interest due to their psychological impacts, including aiding meditation. However, binaural beats have demonstrated inconsistent impacts on user experiences and neural responses during meditation, with this relationship still not fully explored. In this paper, we examine the effect of binaural beats on EEG signals with respect to user experience. The results show that binaural beats increased the occurrence of theta-alpha dominant frequency ratio in the range 1.3-1.8, and this correlates with reduced mind wandering. User mindfulness was also identified to have a positive correlation with cross-frequency coupling. These findings can help researchers evaluate the suitability of binaural beats for meditation and give further insight into how binaural beats function in the brain.