Binaural beats and creativity (Reedijk 2013)

There was no overall effect. Divergent thinking improved only in people with a low spontaneous eye-blink rate (a proxy for low striatal dopamine), while those with a high rate were unaffected or even impaired; convergent thinking was not affected.

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

The question: Do alpha or gamma binaural beats improve creative thinking?

What it found

• The main effect of binaural beats on divergent thinking was null (F<1), but it became reliable with eye-blink rate as a covariate (F(2,44)=5.22, p=0.009).
• People with a low eye-blink rate (below about 20 blinks per minute) benefited from both alpha and gamma beats, while those with a high rate were unaffected or even impaired (alpha × eye-blink rate F(1,22)=9.71, p=0.005; gamma × eye-blink rate F(1,22)=8.51, p=0.008).
• There was no effect on convergent thinking.
• Mood did not mediate the effect.
• The authors conclude that binaural beats are not a one-size-fits-all cognitive enhancer.

Limits

• Small (n=24), heavily gender-imbalanced sample.
• The headline effect is visible only as an interaction with eye-blink rate, which is an indirect dopamine proxy split somewhat arbitrarily.
• No EEG confirmation of entrainment; alpha and gamma acted identically, which argues against frequency-specific entrainment.
• Single lab, not replicated for creativity specifically.

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.