Claim reviewed: Listening to binaural beats before a task works better than listening only during it.
What do we know?
In a meta-analysis's moderator analysis, listening before the task (or before and during it) gave better results than listening only during it, and longer listening increased the effect.
What don't we know?
This rests on a moderator comparison within one meta-analysis; few experiments test the question directly, and in a small experiment that directly varied onset time, results were mixed. The overall effect itself is debated (see the focus claim).
Wording we use in the app: In one meta-analysis, listening before the task gave better results.
Sources (2)
Garcia-Argibay ve ark. 2019 · Meta-analysis · 22 studies
A meta-analysis of 22 studies on memory, attention, anxiety and pain found a medium, significant overall effect. Listening before the task (or before and during it) worked better than listening only during it, and longer exposure increased the effect. Masking with white or pink noise did not appear necessary.
Overall g = 0.45 (35 effect sizes from 22 studies)
First published online in 2018. The abstract gives no confidence interval. Its reference list includes a study retracted in 2021 (Colzato et al. 2017, PMID 28409319); the abstract does not show whether it was included in the analysis.
Garcia-Argibay M, Santed MA, Reales JM. Efficacy of binaural auditory beats in cognition, anxiety, and pain perception: a meta-analysis. Psychol Res. 2019;83(2):357-372. doi:10.1007/s00426-018-1066-8 PMID 30073406 Go to source
Melnichuk ve ark. 2025 · Experiment · 80 participants
Sixteen parameter conditions were tested; 80 undergraduates were randomized and 64 analysed. 40 Hz binaural beats with a low (340 Hz) carrier improved general attention performance but did not prevent the decline of attention over time. EEG showed a response at the beat frequency that varied with parameters and weakened under white-noise masking. The authors say the finding needs replication.
Higher hit rate than a pure tone for 40 Hz beats with a 340 Hz carrier (p = 0.002); no effect on the vigilance decrement
Melnichuk A, Cooper RK, Hawk LW. A parametric investigation of binaural beats for brain entrainment and enhancing sustained attention. Sci Rep. 2025;15(1):4308. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-88517-z PMID 39910150 Go to source
Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · Next review: 3 April 2027