How monaural beats relieve the anxiety

In previous article, we learned about the stabilizing effect of monaural beats. In this article, we will compare the anxiety-relieving effect of binaural beats and monaural beats, and find out why monaural beats are recommended.

We can control brainwaves by providing sound in both binaural beats and monaural beats. For binaural beats, when two sounds with different frequencies are played in both ears, the hearable sound is as much as the difference between the two frequencies. For instance, if we listen to 40Hz in the left ear and 45Hz in the right ear, we will hear a 5Hz sound. On the other hand, since monaural beats are provided with the amplitudes of the two sounds already processed, the brain does not need to process the frequencies separately. In result, they are heard immediately.

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Does that mean they are also different in reducing anxiety?

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Unfortunately, more research has been done on binaural beats than monaural beats so far. Even though there is a study1) that people felt significantly less anxious when listening to monaural beats.

First, let's look at the effect of binaural beats on reducing anxiety. One study2) provided daily delta and theta binaural beats to subjects. And the study reported that the subjects’ level of anxiety reduced and mood/condition changed. This was evident from the reduction in State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)3) scores. Also, in a different experiment4) where delta binaural beats were provided for 40 minutes, the STAI's trait anxiety score was reduced.

On the other hand, this experiment 5) verified the anxiety-relieving effect of monaural beats. This experiment was conducted by sitting the subjects in front of a computer monitor and providing theta waves (6Hz), alpha waves (10Hz), gamma waves (40Hz) and a control tone for 5 minutes each. After listening to different sounds, the subjects were asked to fill out the STAI and DES (Dalbert Emotion Scale) to evaluate their anxiety and current mood state. As a result, monaural beats were found to reduce anxiety in all cases, regardless of the height of the frequency. In addition, the experimental group who listened to gamma and alpha waves showed a decrease in the DES depression index. This shows how monaural beats can positively affect our emotions.

Monaural beats are the fastest and most non-intrusive way to calm your anxiety. As shown in the previous experiments, we can feel good changes in emotions by simply listening to monaural beats for just 5 minutes. If you can't sleep at night and feel anxious or stressed, how about finding peace in mind through monaural beats?