The Impact of Binaural Beat Technology on Vigilance Task Performance, Mental Workload, and Psychological Stress

Vigilance research dates back to WWII when psychologists attempted to explain why sonar radar operators were missing signals allowing German U-boats to pass undetected. This error in vigilance was termed the vigilance decrement. Since WWII the vigilance decrement has been responsible for a number of military, commercial, and industrial accidents and deaths. One possible area of interest which may help to solve this problem is called binaural beat technology. Binaural beats operate by entraining the brain in a frequency following response. Depending on the frequency of the binaural beat, different psychological and physiological results can occur. The current study examined the effects that beta binaural beats had on vigilance task performance, mental workload, and psychological stress. Results indicated that, under certain situations, participants listening to binaural beats during the vigilance task had significantly increased vigilance performance but rated the task as more challenging than the control group