Binaural Beats and Memory

This study explored whether listening to a publicly available beta-frequency binaural beats program while learning new material may have a positive effect on memory for the material. Undergraduate students (46 women, 29 men) first completed measures of verbal learning ability (California Verbal Learning Test II), preexisting knowledge (questions asking for level of knowledge about each sleep disorder in the forthcoming passage), and mood (Profile of Mood States-Brief). Afterward, they spent 20 minutes reading and reviewing a passage about sleep disorders, either in silence or while listening via headphones to either a beta-frequency or theta-frequency binaural beats program from the Brain Wave app developed by Banzai Labs. Finally, participants completed the mood measure a second time, followed by a 15-item multiple-choice test with questions about the passage. The groups did not differ on verbal learning ability, preexisting knowledge, or mood (using difference scores), but they did differ on test score, with the beta-frequencies group having greater test scores than the theta-frequencies group (p = .001) and control group (p = .03); the latter two groups did not differ on test scores (p = .54). These findings suggest that learning may be enhanced with the use of this “Memory Boost” binaural beats program.