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The science · Brain waves

Alpha, explained

Alpha covers about 8 to 13 Hz. It is the rhythm clinical EEG records over the back of the head when people are awake and resting with their eyes closed. Here is what researchers have measured with alpha-rate sound, and what Sonor does with the band.

What the research says

The clinical EEG glossary defines alpha as 8 to 13 Hz and describes it as best seen over the back of the head with eyes closed, during physical relaxation and relative mental inactivity (Kane et al. 2017).

A 2023 systematic review of 14 EEG studies found two that reported higher alpha power during alpha-range binaural beats and four that reported no alpha change attributable to the beat. The authors judged the studies too different to pool (Ingendoh et al. 2023).

A 2014 study randomly assigned 22 healthy people to a 10 Hz or a 20 Hz binaural beat. Neither produced a measurable frequency-following effect (Vernon et al. 2014). A 2017 study played beats at 4.53, 8.97, 17.93, 34.49 and 57.3 Hz. No beat changed power in its own EEG band, and heart rate and skin conductance did not change (López-Caballero and Escera 2017).

A 2017 study of monaural beats at 6, 10 and 40 Hz found lower self-reported anxiety after every beat condition than after control sound. The effect did not depend on the rate, so it says nothing specific about alpha (Chaieb et al. 2017).

Overall, the evidence is weak: studies disagree on whether alpha-rate sound changes alpha activity. We make no claim about what alpha tones do for you.

How Sonor uses it

Sonor's alpha range pulses the tone from 8 up to, but not including, 13 times a second. The picker offers 8, 10 and 12 Hz, and 10 Hz is the default beat when none is chosen. The pulse plays continuously, quietly under music or ambient sound. It is not timed to your own brain waves.

This isn't medical advice. Pulsing audio can affect people with epilepsy or a seizure disorder, so check with a doctor before using it if that applies to you.

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