I’m someone who really struggles with distraction from background noise when trying to focus, I used to be a regular user of GetWorkDoneMusic.com, but since that passed away, I’ve been mostly turning to workout music, layered music and mashups, or so-called 8D audio to get into the grove to work.
In recent years, audio systems specifically designed to influence brain states and behavior have become increasingly in the news. “Functional audio” platforms like Brain.fm, Focus@Will, and Endel have emerged, asserting their ability to enhance focus, relaxation, and sleep through specially crafted audio content. These systems claim to leverage principles of neuroscience to optimise their audio for specific cognitive outcomes, promising to “tune your brainwaves” for peak performance through specially designed soundscapes (for a moderate subscription fee).
But do these platforms actually work? I’ve been using Brain.fm for a while now, but before deciding whether to subscribe after their free trial, it’s worth taking a critical look at the science, methodology, and evidence behind them.
(COI: This blogpost was mostly written under the influence of Brain.fm’s “Deep Work” mode).
What on earth is “Neural Entrainment”?
Brain.fm’s core methodology revolves around the concepts of “neural entrainment” and “neural phase locking”.
Essentially, the idea is that external auditory stimuli can synchronize with your brainwave activity using repetitive melodies, steady rhythms, and ambient sounds to create an immersive auditory environment which guides your mind into your desired state, be that one of deep focus, relaxation, or somewhere in between.
This is apparently a step up from simple techniques like binaural beats (more on this below), asserting that their (patented) approach elicits stronger and specific neural phase locking. The music builds in:
- Rapid modulation: Their focus music often features rapid adjustments in sound, sometimes 10-20 “notes” per second.
- 3D spatial audio: Using head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), they create a sound environment that feels external, aiming to draw your attention to real-world tasks.
- Specifically targeting the prefrontal cortex: Unlike binaural beats, which they say affect lower brain regions, Brain.fm claims to specifically target the area of the brain involved in higher-level thinking and attention.
In addition, the software tailors music based on user preferences and goals, including specific options for those with ADHD, and allows users to tweak it for their needs (for example, I struggle to focus with high “neural effect”).
Is there any evidence that it works?
Brain.fm’s website emphasises its commitment to scientific validation including publishing a white paper with more detailed information about their research and methods.
Their documentation references both EEG studies demonstrating phase-locking and functional MRI demonstrating increased activity in attentional networks when users listen to their focus-enhancing music, which seems to be referring to this 2024 study in Nature Communications Biology. This trial found that that “rapid modulations” in Brain.fm music increased activity in attentional networks. This effect was particularly pronounced for participants with more self-reported ADHD symptoms, supporting the use of beta-frequency modulations in this group to improve focus.
There’s some pretty pictures on their website referencing this:
They’ve also published placebo controlled behavioral studies on tasks to measure focused attention, comparing their approach to general music without their specific technology.
Outside of this specific product, the concept of neural entrainment itself is a subject of ongoing scientific debate, as well as its potential role in various sensory and cognitive processes. While there’s agreement that rhythmic stimuli can influence brain activity, questions remain about whether this directly alters intrinsic brain oscillations or is simply the brain tracking the stimulus.
Neural entrainment has been proposed as a key mechanism underlying selective attention, enabling the brain to optimise the processing of predictable events, such as speech. It’s proposed that if a listener selectively attends to a particular rhythm in a complex environment, it can lead to the entrainment of neural oscillations to the temporal structure of that rhythm.
However, research on neural entrainment faces multiple methodological challenges. One significant hurdle lies in the interpretation of results from studies involving rhythmic perceptual stimulation, where it can be difficult to definitively distinguish between genuine entrainment of endogenous brain oscillations and the brain simply tracking the external stimulus. There are also inherent methodological difficulties in accurately identifying and separating endogenous brain oscillations from neural responses that are directly evoked by the stimulus.
There are other, simpler forms of auditory stimulation that are also purported to improve focus, and the research here is more advanced but also more conflicting:
- Binaural beats are an auditory illusion created by playing two slightly different frequencies to each ear, resulting in the perception of a third “beat”. Research on their effectiveness for focus, anxiety and depression, cognition, and memory is mixed and often contradictory.
- Isochronic tones, in contrast, consist of regular beats of a single tone that are turned on and off at evenly spaced intervals, creating a rhythmic pulse. They are also purported to offer benefits such as improved focus and concentration, enhanced relaxation, and stress reduction, but research in this area is generally more limited compared to that on binaural beats.
Regardless, pinning down the true effectiveness of these systems is challenging due to the presence of multiple potential confounders. For example, investigations into the effects of music on cognition and executive function face significant challenges in establishing direct causal links due to challenges in disentangling pre-existing cognitive abilities, inherent personality traits, socio-economic backgrounds, and the individual’s motivation to engage with music or cognitive tasks.
Will I start paying for this?
Brain.fm and its counterparts offer an intriguing avenue for cognitive enhancement. There’s some promising evidence suggesting that their specific techniques can influence brain activity and attention, but I’m not sure whether this simply reflects their immaturity compared to binaural beats etc and we need more work to show cases where it doesn’t work, or is equivocal. We need to traverse the trough of disillusionment before we start to really understand it.
However, the science is still evolving. And as a potential tools, rather than definitive cure for distractability, it seems to work - at least for me. Individual results will vary, and the power of belief and hype (or to put it more formally, the placebo effect) is a real factor.
So I’d say if you’re curious, try the free trials. See if it works for you. But approach it with a critical mind, and manage your expectations. Meanwhile more large-scale, rigorous, and independently replicated research is needed to fully understand the benefits and limitations of these audio technologies.
Personally, I’ve found it helps me lock in on work, especially when sitting in a noisy environment. And that, to me, is worth the subscription fee.