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Efficacy of Binaural Beat Meditation Technology for Treating Anxiety Symptoms: A Pilot Study.

A. Yusim, Justinas Grigaitis

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease February 1, 2020 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000001070 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Randomized Placebo-controlled Pilot study Peer reviewed
Sample size 28
Population Psychiatric outpatients with anxiety disorder and nonpatients in healing professions
Intervention binaural beat meditation technology
Duration 2 weeks to 2 months
Topics Anxiety Meditation
Key findings The combination of psychiatry treatment with binaural beat meditation led to statistically significant reductions in anxiety scores, while psychiatry-only and meditation-only groups showed smaller or limited improvements.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the efficacy of a novel binaural beat meditation technology for the treatment of anxiety symptoms in both psychiatric outpatients and nonpatients. Twenty psychiatric outpatients with anxiety disorder and eight individuals (nonpatients) in the healing professions were given the opportunity to use this meditation technology over the course of 2 weeks to 2 months. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scores were measured in all participants over the course of the study. Of the 20 outpatients who took part in the study, nine used the meditations as planned, whereas 11 did not for various reasons (could not download, forgot, did not have time, etc.), resulting in the formation of three treatment groups: psychiatry + meditation (n = 8), psychiatry only (n = 10), and meditation only (n = 8). The psychiatry + meditation group showed a 13.5-point (26.5%) decrease in State-Anxiety (t = 5.28, p = 0.001), a 14.1-point (24.7%) decrease in Trait-Anxiety (t = -5.12, p = 0.001), and a 27.6-point (25.6%) decrease in Total Anxiety (t = 7.63, p ≤ 0.001). The psychiatry-only group showed a 4.2-point (8.4%) decrease in State-Anxiety (t = -2.20, p = 0.05) and a 7.0-point (6.9%) decrease in Total Anxiety (t = -2.61, p = 0.02). The meditation only showed a 3.5-point (9.8%) decrease in Trait-Anxiety (t = -2.47, p = 0.04). In a multiple regression analysis controlling for sociodemographic factors, medications, and treatment-related variables, the only statistically significant improvement in anxiety was seen in the psychiatry + meditation group for the Total Anxiety score (p < 0.01). These findings suggest that use of this meditation technology may exhibit a positive effect on self-reported measures of anxiety in the context of a psychiatry/psychotherapy practice. However, larger-scale randomized, placebo-controlled trials are needed to confirm our findings.

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on anxiety, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia 1992 Observational cohort n = 22
Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report Patients with a depressive disorder 2015 Observational study
Patterning of Cognitive and Somatic Processes in the Self-Regulation of Anxiety: Effects of Meditation versus Exercise Regular practitioners of physical exercise or meditation 1978 Retrospective study n = 77
Dynamic coupling of whole-brain neuronal and neurotransmitter systems Healthy humans 2020 Observational study
Psychedelics not linked to mental health problems or suicidal behavior: A population study Randomly selected United States adults 2015 Observational cohort n = 135,095

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