Binaural beats, memory and attention: meta-analysis (Basu 2022)

Pooled across 15 studies, binaural beats showed a near-moderate benefit for memory and attention (Hedges' g = 0.40, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.67). Heterogeneity was high (I² about 77%) and study-level results conflicted.

A plain-language summary from binaural's reading notes, edited by Jude Mc. Last updated 10 November 2026. Not medical advice.

The question: Across published studies, do binaural beats improve memory and attention?

What it found

• The pooled random-effects effect on memory and attention was g = 0.40 (95% CI 0.14 to 0.67); the forest-plot total is reported slightly higher at SMD 0.50 (0.24 to 0.76).
• Heterogeneity was high (Q(df=32) = 121.34, p < .0001, I² about 77%), and individual effect sizes ranged from about −0.82 to +2.50.
• Egger's test was non-significant (p = .283), but the funnel plot suggests likely publication bias from many high-effect small studies.
• Among frequencies, only alpha reached significance.
• Listening during the task, or between encoding and retrieval, gave significant effects; listening before the task did not.

Limits

• Small underlying samples (many n = 10–34), high heterogeneity and likely publication bias inflate the pooled estimate.
• Effect sizes were reconstructed from p and F values in several studies.
• Very different protocols are collapsed into one estimate, and meta-regression explained only about 3.7% of the variance.
• It is unclear whether alpha is genuinely the most effective band or an artifact of which studies used it.

Where this sits

More in the library on attention, memory and thinking. For the wider picture, read Binaural beats for focus and studying.

This is our plain-language reading of the paper. It is not medical advice, and one study rarely settles a question.