Brainwave Entrainment (Brain Entrainment): Improve Focus, Concentration & Meditation

The internet is awash in suggestions for how to improve focus and concentration and for good reason. Focus and concentration difficulties are on the rise related to increases in stress (APA, 2020). Despite the many suggestions, tips, tricks, and hacks, it is very difficult to find anyone who feels that have made tangible progress reducing stress or increasing focus. I (biasedly) think those of us that meditate, practice yoga or tai chi do have an advantage. But even in our case, most of us are still working at carrying that oh-so-good feeling throughout the day. While technology might be in-part responsible for problems focusing, it also offers a solution in the form of brainwave entrainment.

Brainwave entrainment is the process of listening to competing frequencies that causes the brain to create a new frequency by combining the two. It improves the ability to focus and concentrate by removing the stimulus, pattern, or habit that limits attention, or adding activities or habits to extend the period of focus and concentration. On average, participants in studies were successful by combining independent activities designed to improve focus with improved habits, such as using brainwave entrainment, during the activity that wanted to concentrate on.

The benefits of brainwave entrainment are amazing. Yet, the number of people who try it out is low because they have never heard of it or are skeptical about what it can do. This is really unfortunate because brainwave entrainment can get us meditating more deeply by reducing the learning curve, and get us focusing more intensely during work or studying.

Introduction: Why Brainwave Entrainment Matters

I used to be a pretty strict Luddite when it comes my practice and meditation. No technology for me! But I hit a plateau in my progress and was actually getting a bit bored. This translated into meditating less often. I wasn’t sure if this was natural for everyone or if I was doing something wrong. Monotony or boredom is often seen as one of the disadvantages of an pursuits like tai chi and something real you have to get past if you want to make progress. I reached out to fellow teachers who I knew were further down the path than I was. Here is what I found out:

1. Meditators and practitioners that I respect were getting great results using brain entrainment
2. The science behind brain entrainment research is longstanding and pretty solid (see below).

The process was pretty straight forward for me. I was struggling with knowing whether I was doing the right thing or knowing what to expect in my progress. Using sounds during my meditation infrequently showed what I should be experiencing and what to shoot for. By sitting while working on this, it also gave me an idea of what I should be feeling when standing to do qi gong or moving during tai chi. So it kind of provided me with a roadmap.

While technology might be in part responsible for problems focusing, it also offers a solution in the form of brainwave entrainment (sometimes called brain entrainment). Being new to most of us, let’s start with talking about what it is, how it came about, why it works, and then examples of how I add brain entrainment to my day.

What Is Brainwave Entrainment?

Brainwave entrainment uses an external stimulus such as sound or light to cause brainwave frequencies to correspond with an intended brain state—for example, inducing sleep, relaxation, or deep meditation. It is based on research showing that the human brain tends to “sync up” with a dominant frequency.

Brain entrainment tones and music are enjoyable and have been used historically in meditation, yoga, and tai chi. Modern brain entrainment programs and apps adapt these sounds into accessible audio tracks.

What does brain entrainment sound like?

Brain entrainment tones and music is pretty enjoyable actually. And there is a long history of using music and sounds in tai chi and meditation. Brain entrainment tracks are different depending on the goal. It can sound like white noise but research has advanced the technology so that it can be applied to music. Here is an example:

How Does Brainwave Entrainment Work?

Brain entrainment tones and music are pretty enjoyable actually. And there is a long history of using music and sounds in tai chi and meditation. Brain entrainment tracks are different depending on the goal. It can sound like white noise but research has advanced the technology so that it can be applied to music.

For sound localization, the human auditory system analyses time differences between both ears. Typically, when different frequencies are presented to each ear, the brain provides directional information. When the sounds are low in frequency and continual, an integration of the two signals takes place, producing the sensation of a third “beat.”

Evidence suggests that the auditory signals are generated in the brainstem’s superior olivary nucleus or the inferior colliculus (Schwartz, 1992).The goal of binaural technology is to have the new beat match a desired brain wave state. A person’s dominant frequency determines one’s current state. Stress and lack of sleep contribute to higher frequency ranges. These higher frequency ranges are necessary in life but if we don’t get a break then sickness and injury result.

Brainwave Entrainment Frequency Table

Frequency range	Name	Usually associated with:
> 40 Hz	Gamma waves	Higher mental activity, including perception, problem solving, fear, and consciousness
13–39 Hz	Beta waves	Active, busy or anxious thinking and active concentration, arousal, cognition, and or paranoia
7–13 Hz	Alpha waves	Relaxation (while awake), pre-sleep and pre-wake drowsiness, REM sleep, Dreams
8–12 Hz	Mu waves	Mu rhythm, Sensorimotor rhythm
4–7 Hz	Theta waves	Deep meditation/relaxation, NREM sleep
< 4 Hz	Delta waves	Deep dreamless sleep, loss of body awareness

(adapted from Wikipedia: Electroencephalography)

Being a researcher myself I want to be clear about the findings on brainwave entrainment because while the research itself is very straight forward while others’ interpretation of the studies overpromise at times. Here’s how I interpret brainwave entrainment studies:

• The brain can be measured at a certain frequency.
• Specific frequencies have been associated with specific activities (e.g. meditation), specific states (e.g. sleep), and specific participant reports (e.g. being anxious).
• These specific frequencies can be produced in the brain through the use of sound, visual cues, or tactile cues (brainwave entrainment).
• The belief* is that by manually stimulating a brain’s frequency to match a desired state (theta waves/deep meditation), we get the benefit of that beneficial state.

*While the first three statements are positively true, the only way to measure the outcome of brainwave entrainment is through participant description and report. So when trying to find out if brainwave entrainment is scientifically proven, the answer is yes but it is a mixture of standardized assessments and questionnaires to get us the results.

From a scientific standpoint this gets difficult because there are questions about placebo effect and reporter errors that bring the data into question. This is not a big problem from a user standpoint. We just need to know that 1) enough science was done on the front end (there was), that enough people reported similar benefits (there are tons), and 3) we need to try it out to see if our experience matches theirs. This is really easy in the case of brainwave entrainment because it is easy, safe, and inexpensive.

The best explanation explanation backed up by research comes from the one group that is based on the research that began in the 1930s by Robert Monroe. Dr. Elizabeth Krasnoff, Ph.D. talks about the neurophysiology of brainwave entrainment, what binaural beats actually do. This is the full interview but it clearly lays out the current research.

A Short History of Brainwave Entrainment Research

Brainwave entrainment technology is the result of three principle researchers building on each other’s findings. Heinrich Wilhelm Dove was a Prussian researcher primarily interested in the relationship between energy such as sound and magnetism and the earth. He discovered binaural beats in 1839 and “produced a unique perception of interfering beats.”

In 1973, Gerald Oster published the collected studies to date on auditory brainstem response, studied animal ability to locate to sound, and discovered that Parkinson’s patients could not create an independent tone when hearing binaural beats. This set the stage for binaural beats to become the subject of cognitive and neurological research.

Robert Monroe of the now famous Monroe Institute in Virginia began using auditory soundtracks to facilitate exploration and replication of specific altered states of consciousness. Their research has included an estimated 20,000 participants and has advanced the specificity between auditory tones and cognitive response. Fast forward to an era when we can download or access audio endlessly, and you have birth of modern brainwave entrainment.

Benefits of Brainwave Entrainment

There are an incredible number of claims about brainwave entrainment benefits that simply aren’t accurate. This is heartbreaking to me because I benefit greatly from using binaural sounds and know that others would too, but unsubstantiated claims increase skepticism. Three important, substantiated benefits:

1. Enhanced meditation practice using brainwave entrainment:
   1. Specifically: Further movement along the spectrum from a negative state and erratic thinking toward focus and a state of bliss.
   2. Why: Use of brain entrainment apps during meditation results in benefits that are quantifiable through brain imagery. Deeper meditation reaches Alpha and Theta states which are akin to happier and healthier awareness.
2. Increased cognitive abilities from use of brainwave entrainment:
   1. Specifically: Increased focus, concentration, problem-solving, and creative abilities.
   2. Why: Brainwave entrainment music creates a synchronicity between two hemispheres enabling you to think more holistically. This is quantifiable based on amount and quality of work produced, as well as perceived exhaustion following a work or study session.
3. Reduction in stress from use of brainwave entrainment:
   1. Specifically: Reduced mental chatter and alignment with positive thought.
   2. Why: Alignment with cognitive frequencies that promote a calm nervous system. Measurements can be made of heart rate, sweating, and measures of cortisol in the blood, a marker of inflammation and stress.

Is Brainwave Entrainment Safe?

No side effects have been reported from the use of brainwave entrainment. Basically, any measured change to a brain’s frequency that is enhanced artificially (music/touch/imagery) stops after the stimuli is removed. Most producers of the technology warn against the use of brainwave entrainment by children under age 18, people with seizure disorders, and pregnant women. Studies have not been conducted on these populations to date. Additionally, (and this goes without saying) it is suggested that you do not drive while listening to brainwave entrainment due to the relaxing effect.

Important safety note: Audio methods like binaural beats are generally safe for healthy adults, but avoid AVE light-flash devices if you have epilepsy, migraines, or photosensitivity.

Examples of How to Use Brainwave Entrainment

When people ask me why I do qi gong, tai chi or meditate, I always start by explaining the benefits you receive after practicing for a while. People are genuinely interested in beginning but there is often a hesitation because of the commitment of time and learning that is needed before you really start to reap the rewards.

I always wish that I could jump the skeptic ahead so that they could immediately feel the difference that internal work causes: better health, better sleep, calmness. I know they would be sold. Meditation using brain entrainment now has the potential of doing this.

Brainwave Entrainment and Meditation

This is where I think everyone should start. I know that most people begin by listening to binaural audio files while doing something else but it is really a profound experience to be meditating and feel like you are falling asleep but you are sitting there awake. I have even found differences between using brainwave entrainment to meditate in the morning and afternoon. In the morning when I finish, I have a really clear sense of what I need to do that day, remember things I forgot to do, or have really good new ideas. In the afternoon, it is like I just took a nap and my 3-5 work is more refreshed.

Secondly, most of us learn about meditation but don’t know if we are doing it correctly for the first few years. And this is assuming that we even continue to meditate if results are mediocre or don’t exist. Brainwave entrainment gives us an amazing meditation experience much earlier on. While mindfulness has become a hot topic that many people are interested in, it often lacks the steps to actually achieve it. Brainwave entrainment can help us get there.

How I Use Brainwave Entrainment for Focus and Concentration

I am an avid user of sounds to enhance my meditation, qi gong, tai chi, and now even my work. Despite teaching tai chi this is largely something I have kept to myself because it doesn’t fall into the typical curriculum of any of the arts. But then I began having students who were working diligently and progressing ask me how they can advance or experience what I was telling them was down the road if they kept practicing. I also was asked at work how I am able to write reports and produce content at a continual, steady rate. The answer was the same in both situations. I lean on brain entrainment when I need a boost.

Brainwave Entrainment Paired with Qi Gong and Tai Chi (and Yoga?)

If you are practitioners of either art, maybe like me, your practice was 100% physical movements at the beginning which you tried to layer concentration, focus, and good feelings onto at a later time. By using brainwave entrainment while meditating, then standing to do a portion of a set, you know exactly how the set is supposed to make you feel and what clear, clean concentration feels like. The sensation of how tai chi quiets the mind can be enhanced feels a lot like brain entrainment. I am not a Yoga practitioner but imagine that they would have the same experience by using the beats and then practicing a pose.

Brainwave Entrainment and Focus at Work

Some of the best things we produce at work come from intense periods of focus. On the other side of that coin, the times that we are completely enjoying ourselves, not worried about the time, not aware of what is going on in the room, we are intensely focused. I used to think of this as a luxury. Like some spirit animal that would visit me when it felt like it. I can more systematically get into a state of high focus using brainwave entrainment audio designed for focus. That means better quality work, less mistakes, and meeting my deadlines.

Brainwave Entrainment and Concentration

I know I might be nerding out a bit but I separate focus from concentration. Focus to me deals with the time frame and my ability not to pogo-stick on and off topic. Concentration is my ability to think deeply, to solve, to create something brand new, and to be really proud of what I created when I come up for air. It is so, so enjoyable. Brainwave entrainment is akin to concentration because like how you slip deeper into meditative states, concentration starts as plain-old thinking before it expands into something greater. I am not sure exactly how it works but deep thought is really possible by using brainwave entrainment tracks.

How to Get Started with Brainwave Entrainment

Here is the beauty of brain entrainment. You can really “stink” at meditation and begin to benefit from the process. I still meditate in quiet but have found the entrainment audio can make my meditation deeper. Additionally. I think I am more productive creatively at work when I use the beats regularly. I can’t prove this scientifically but there is a definite correlation between writing output and entrainment use. The how is easy. Many people start with a free trial of a brain entrainment app to test sessions of 10–15 minutes.”

Here is what you do during meditation:

1. Find a comfortable place free of distraction.
2. Research shows that you only need 7 minutes to reach entrainment but people benefit the most from crossing the 15 minute mark.
3. Eyes closed or if your eyes are open focus on something like a candle or point.
4. Try it out for two to four weeks. The company listed below has a free trial period.
5. If you need help to stop looking at the clock, set a timer for 5 minutes and increase the meditation time by 30 seconds each day.

What is the Best Brain Entrainment Program?

If you have had a look around you know that there are a bunch of brain entrainment programs and it’s really hard to tell what the difference is or if they will even work. I have tried a bunch and now exclusively use Hemi-Sync. They have:

• An expansive library of tracks covering focus, relaxation, sleep, creativity, and deep meditation.
• Personalized playlists you can build around your goals—whether that’s powering through a work session, winding down before bed, or going deeper into meditation.
• High-quality audio engineering based on proven frequency-following techniques, so you know you’re listening to entrainment that works.
• Portability and flexibility—listen on the go, at your desk, or while practicing yoga, tai chi, or other mindfulness routines.

What sets Hemi-Sync apart from many other brainwave entrainment apps is its combination of scientific credibility and user-friendly design. You’re not just getting a handful of tones—you’re stepping into a curated experience backed by years of research, with the freedom to tailor it to your daily life.

This is important because let’s say you try brain entrainment to improve meditation. Once you see have success you will probably want to check out how to work and sleep better. And it only starts there. This is when the use of their brainwave entrainment app comes in because you have access to an extensive library. thiere are areas of focus for pretty much anything you want to improve in your life.

Dial in to Your Specific Needs

Here’s another thing, the areas of life that any two people want to enhance are completely different. Even for me, what I am going through this year versus last year is completely different. Using binaural beats you can address many different topics. Here are some of their most popular courses.

Health and Healing – Strengthen the physical and mental components of the total healing process. Digital Acupuncture uses a unique energetic signature of the human acupuncture meridian map which optimizes the healthy flow of qi through all the acupuncture meridians.

Physical Peak Performance – Energize and focus your workouts, aid in recovery, and promote mind-body integrated strength.

Enhanced Creativity – Brain Awake dramatically boosts your concentration, memory, intuition, and creativity.

Super Sleep – Enjoy the benefits of totally refreshing, natural sleep. The most restorative, healing stage of sleep designed to help you fall asleep more quickly, sleep more deeply, and wake up feeling rested and energized.

Emerging From Stress and Anxiety – Experience more peace, let go of negativity, significantly deepen body/mind healing sessions, experience a profoundly relaxing natural high, and let go of emotional stress.

Deep Meditation – Reach profound meditative states quickly and easily.

FAQs About Brainwave Entrainment

What are the main types of brainwave entrainment?

There are several types of brainwave entrainment, each using different methods to influence brain activity. Below is a comparison of the four main approaches.

Brainwave Entrainment Comparison Chart

Technique	How It Works	Equipment Needed	Pros	Cons / Limitations	Common Uses
Binaural Beats	Two slightly different frequencies are played in each ear; the brain “hears” a third beat frequency.	Stereo headphones	Easy to access (apps/music), well-studied, relaxing	Requires headphones, mixed evidence, subtle effect for some	Meditation, relaxation, focus, sleep
Monaural Beats	Two tones combined into one signal before reaching the ear, creating an audible beat.	Speakers or headphones	Stronger perceptual effect than binaural, doesn’t require stereo separation	Less widely available than binaural, fewer studies	Relaxation, focus
Isochronic Tones	Single tone pulsed on/off at precise intervals, producing sharp rhythmic beats.	Speakers or headphones	Very noticeable, doesn’t require headphones, strong entrainment response	Can be harsh/annoying to listen to, not always paired with music	Focus, energy, meditation
Audio-Visual Entrainment (AVE)	Uses rhythmic flashes of light and/or pulsed sound to synchronize brainwaves	Specialized AVE devices with goggles + headphones	Strong entrainment, multi-sensory	Contraindicated for epilepsy/photosensitivity, requires special equipment, more expensive	Deep meditation, therapy sessions, cognitive training

Citations and Further Reading

• Blauert, J.: Spatial hearing – the psychophysics of human sound localization; MIT Press; Cambridge, Massachusetts (1983), ch. 2.4
• Griffin AL, Asaka Y, Darling RD, Berry SD (2004). “Theta-contingent trial presentation accelerates learning rate and enhances hippocampal plasticity during trace eyeblink conditioning”. Behav. Neurosci. 118 (2): 403–11.
• Gu X, Wright BA, Green DM (1995). “Failure to hear binaural beats below threshold”.The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 97 (1): 701–703.
• Saxby E, Peniston EG (1995). “Alpha-theta brainwave neurofeedback training: an effective treatment for male and female alcoholics with depressive symptoms”. Journal of clinical psychology 51 (5): 685–93.
• Wahbeh H, Calabrese C, Zwickey H, Zajdel J (2007). “Binaural Beat Technology in Humans: A Pilot Study to Assess Neuropsychologic, Physiologic, And Electroencephalographic Effects”. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine 13(2): 199–206.