Survey on binaural beats and background music for increased focus and relaxation

Abstract

Modern lifestyle requires an individual to do a plethora of tasks with utmost efficiency for longer periods of time. This becomes increasingly difficult to achieve due to a number of distractions available in today's environment. Our brains contain different brainwaves which influence our behavior. These brainwaves can be manipulated to encourage certain kinds of behavior. The objective of this paper is to provide a method of manipulating these brainwaves to achieve a greater degree of focus and relaxation for longer periods of time. The method proposed in this paper makes use of a phenomenon called Binaural beats. Binaural beats happen when two different frequencies which are sinusoidal in nature are introduced to the two ears. The ‘beat’ effect of binaural beats is caused due to the difference between the two frequencies presented to each ear. Usually the difference between these frequencies is relatively small. This difference in the frequencies presented to each of the ear is actually the frequency of the Binaural beats. The method proposed in this paper combines short bursts and continuous stimulus of binaural beats to increase focus and relaxation among the users by reducing habituation.