Auditory Steady State Response to the Music with Embedded Binaural Beats during Daytime Sleep

Music with embedded binaural beats (BBs) is a promising noninvasive tool for insomnia treatment. This work tests the hypothesis of “entrainment” effect of that kind of music on human brainwaves as a physiological mechanism of sleep improvement. The spectrum of auditory steady state response has been compared in the group of 21 subjects during daytime sleep onset, with music embedded with BBs of 2 and 4 Hz (stimulus condition) and without any stimulus (control condition). Significant difference in auditory steady state response power has been found between conditions at 14 Hz (“sleep spindle” frequency). However, no significant difference has been found at frequencies of 2 and 4 Hz embedded to add a somnogenic feature to the music stimulus according to the hypothesis tested. The results obtained do not support the hypothesis of “entrainment” effect of the stimulus examined on sleep; yet they support the conclusion made in the previous authors’ paper that it improves daytime sleep quality.