The Effectiveness of Alpha Binaural Beats in Reducing Stress and Rumination and Promoting Sleep Quality in University Students with Poor Sleep Quality
Abstract
Background and Objective: Binaural beats are a novel type of non-invasive interventions. The present research aimed at assessing the effectiveness of alpha binaural beats in reducing stress, and rumination and promoting sleep quality instudents with poor sleep quality.
Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial in which the statistical population included all university students with poor sleep quality in Mashhad, Iran, in 2020. According to inclusion criteria and ethical considerations,24 students (12 women and 12 men) took part in this study. To reach the study objectives, the experimental group (12 students) received alpha binaural beats (10 Hz) for 30 minutes for 30 nights, and the control group (12 students) was on the waiting list. The research instruments consisted of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), RuminativeResponse Scale (RRS), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).
Results: Based on demographic variables, there was no significant difference for age and gender between control and experimental groups (P > 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis was performed and showed that alpha binaural beat intervention could have a protective effect on the variables of sleep quality [odds ratio (OR) = 0.77, P < 0.0001], rumination (OR = 0.85, P < 0.0001), and stress (OR = 0.69, P < 0.0001).
Conclusion: Alpha binaural beats play an effective role in reducing perceived stress and rumination and improving sleep quality in students. The present study proposed a novel non-invasive intervention for psychological disorders
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13. Sartorius N. Short-lived campaigns are not enough. Nature 2010; 468: 163-5.
14. Birba A, Ibanez A, Sedeno L, et al. Non-invasive brain stimulation: A new strategy in mild cognitive impairment? Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9: 16.
15. Parodi A, Fodde P, Pellecchia T, et al. A random-ized controlled study examining a novel binaural beat technique for treatment of preoperative anxiety in a group of women undergoing elective caesarean section. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol 2021; 42: 147-51.
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19. Jurvanen K. Binaural beats and music: using theta and alpha waves in music to induce relaxation and meditation [MA Thesis]. Espoo, Finland: Aalto Uni-versity, 2020.
20. Abeln V, Kleinert J, Struder HK, et al. Brainwave entrainment for better sleep and post-sleep state of young elite soccer players - a pilot study. Eur J Sport Sci 2014; 14: 393-402.
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24. Farrahi MJ, Nakhaee N, Sheibani V, et al. Reliabil-ity and validity of the Persian version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-P). Sleep Breath 2012; 16: 79-82.
25. Nolen-Hoeksema S, Morrow J. A prospective study of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster: the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. J Pers Soc Psychol 1991; 61: 115-21.
26. Raes F, Hermans D, Eelen P. Kort instrumenteel De Nederlandstalige versie van de Ruminative Response Scale (RRS-NL) en de Rumination on Sadness Scale (RSS-NL). Gedragstherapie 2003; 36: 97-104.
27. Treynor W, Gonzalez R, Nolen-Hoeksema S. Ru-mination reconsidered: A psychometric analysis. Cog-nit Ther Res 2003; 27: 247-59.
28. Azizi A, Mohammadkhani P, Foroughi Aa, et al. The validity and reliability of the Iranian Version of the Self Compassion Scale. Practice in Clinical Psy-chology 2013; 1: 149-55.
29. Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav 1983; 24: 385-96.
30. Safaei M, Shokri O. Assessing stress in cancer patients: Factorial Validity of the perceived stress scale in Iran. Iranian Journal of Psychiatric Nursing 2014; 2: 13-22.
31. Casciaro F, Laterza V, Conte S, et al. Alpha-rhythm stimulation using brain entrainment enhances heart rate variability in subjects with reduced HRV. World J Neurosci 2013; 3: 213-20.
32. Wiederhold BK, Riva G, Bouchard S. Annual re-view of cybertherapy and telemedicine 2011. Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press; 2011.
33. Bavafa A, Foroughi A, Jaberghaderi N, et al. Binau-ral beat theta and its impact on primary insomniacs: A randomized clinical trial. Med J Mashad Univ Med Sci 2019; 62: 138-46.
34. Li C, Zhang Y, Randhawa AK, et al. Emotional exhaustion and sleep problems in university students: Does mental toughness matter? Pers Individ Differ 2020; 163: 110046.
35. Fowler CH, Miernicki ME, Rudolph KD, et al. Dis-rupted amygdala-prefrontal connectivity during emo-tion regulation links stress-reactive rumination and adolescent depressive symptoms. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 27: 99-106.
36. Putnam KM, McSweeney LB. Depressive symp-toms and baseline prefrontal EEG alpha activity: A study utilizing Ecological Momentary Assessment Biol Psychol 2008; 77: 237-40.
37. Lopez-Caballero F, Escera C. Binaural beat: A fail-ure to enhance EEG power and emotional arousal. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11: 557.
38. Bang YR, Choi HY, Yoon IY. Minimal effects of binaural auditory beats for subclinical insomnia: A randomized double-blind controlled study. J Clin Psychopharmacol 2019; 39: 499-503.
39. Munro BA, Searchfield GD. The short-term effects of recorded ocean sound with and without alpha fre-quency binaural beats on tinnitus perception. Comple-ment Ther Med 2019; 44: 291-5.
40. Foster DS. EEG and subjective correlates of alpha frequency binaural beats stimulation combined with alpha biofeedback. Memphis, TN: Memphis State University; 1990.
41. Wahbeh H, Calabrese C, Zwickey H. Binaural beat technology in humans: a pilot study to assess psycho-logic and physiologic effects. J Altern Complement Med 2007; 13: 25-32.
42. von Stein A, Sarnthein J. Different frequencies for different scales of cortical integration: from local gamma to long range alpha/theta synchronization. Int J Psychophysiol 2000; 38: 301-13.
2. Castaldelli-Maia JM, Lewis T, Marques Dos SN, et al. Stressors, psychological distress, and mental health problems amongst Brazilian medical students. Int Rev Psychiatry 2019; 31: 603-7.
3. Bavafa A, Foroughi AA, Khaledi-Paveh B, et al. The comparison of effects of state and trait anxiety on the components of sleep quality. J Sleep Sci 2019; 3: 95-101.
4. Becker SP, Jarrett MA, Luebbe AM, et al. Sleep in a large, multi-university sample of college students: sleep problem prevalence, sex differences, and mental health correlates. Sleep Health 2018; 4: 174-81.
5. Ranjbaran M. Prevalence of poor sleep quality in college students of Iran: Systematic review and Meta-analysis. Razi J Med Sci 2016; 23: 1-7. [In Persian].
6. Russell K, Allan S, Beattie L, et al. Sleep problem, suicide and self-harm in university students: A systema-tic review. Sleep Med Rev 2019; 44: 58-69.
7. Thorsteinsson EB, Brown RF, Owens MT. Modeling the effects of stress, anxiety, and depression on rumination, sleep, and fatigue in a nonclinical sample. J Nerv Ment Dis 2019; 207: 355-9.
8. Constantin K, English MM, Mazmanian D. Anxiety, depression, and procrastination among students: rumi-nation plays a larger mediating role than worry. J Rat- Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 2018; 36: 15-27.
9. Guastella AJ, Moulds ML. The impact of rumination on sleep quality following a stressful life event. Pers Individ Differ 2007; 42: 1151-62.
10. Cook L, Mostazir M, Watkins E. Reducing Stress and Preventing Depression (RESPOND): Randomized controlled trial of web-based rumination-focused cog-nitive behavioral therapy for high-ruminating university students. J Med Internet Res 2019; 21: e11349.
11. Cheng P, Kalmbach DA, Castelan AC, et al. Depression prevention in digital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: Is rumination a mediator? J Af-fect Disord 2020; 273: 434-41.
12. Soltani M, Fatehizade MA. The effectiveness of compassion focused therapy on depression and ru-mination after romantic relationship breakup: A single case study. Clinical Psychology Studies 2020; 10: 63-90. [In Persian].
13. Sartorius N. Short-lived campaigns are not enough. Nature 2010; 468: 163-5.
14. Birba A, Ibanez A, Sedeno L, et al. Non-invasive brain stimulation: A new strategy in mild cognitive impairment? Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9: 16.
15. Parodi A, Fodde P, Pellecchia T, et al. A random-ized controlled study examining a novel binaural beat technique for treatment of preoperative anxiety in a group of women undergoing elective caesarean section. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol 2021; 42: 147-51.
16. Turow G, Lane JD. Binaural beat stimulation: alter-ing vigilance and mood states. In: Berger J, Turow G, editors. Music, Science, and the Rhythmic Brain. Lon-don, UK: Routledge; 2012. p. 131-45.
17. Thatcher R. EEG evaluation of traumatic brain inju-ry and EEG biofeedback treatment. In: Evans JR, Abarbanel A, editors. Introduction to Quantitative EEG and Neurofeedback. San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 2009. p. 269-94.
18. Gupta A, Ramdinmawii E, Mittal VK. Significance of alpha brainwaves in meditation examined from the study of binaural beats. 2016 p. 484-9.
19. Jurvanen K. Binaural beats and music: using theta and alpha waves in music to induce relaxation and meditation [MA Thesis]. Espoo, Finland: Aalto Uni-versity, 2020.
20. Abeln V, Kleinert J, Struder HK, et al. Brainwave entrainment for better sleep and post-sleep state of young elite soccer players - a pilot study. Eur J Sport Sci 2014; 14: 393-402.
21. Light GA, Williams LE, Minow F, et al. Electroen-cephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) with human participants. Curr Protoc Neurosci 2010; Chapter 6: Unit-24.
22. Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF, Monk TH, et al. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res 1989; 28: 193-213.
23. Backhaus J, Junghanns K, Broocks A, et al. Test-retest reliability and validity of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in primary insomnia. J Psychosom Res 2002; 53: 737-40.
24. Farrahi MJ, Nakhaee N, Sheibani V, et al. Reliabil-ity and validity of the Persian version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-P). Sleep Breath 2012; 16: 79-82.
25. Nolen-Hoeksema S, Morrow J. A prospective study of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster: the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. J Pers Soc Psychol 1991; 61: 115-21.
26. Raes F, Hermans D, Eelen P. Kort instrumenteel De Nederlandstalige versie van de Ruminative Response Scale (RRS-NL) en de Rumination on Sadness Scale (RSS-NL). Gedragstherapie 2003; 36: 97-104.
27. Treynor W, Gonzalez R, Nolen-Hoeksema S. Ru-mination reconsidered: A psychometric analysis. Cog-nit Ther Res 2003; 27: 247-59.
28. Azizi A, Mohammadkhani P, Foroughi Aa, et al. The validity and reliability of the Iranian Version of the Self Compassion Scale. Practice in Clinical Psy-chology 2013; 1: 149-55.
29. Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav 1983; 24: 385-96.
30. Safaei M, Shokri O. Assessing stress in cancer patients: Factorial Validity of the perceived stress scale in Iran. Iranian Journal of Psychiatric Nursing 2014; 2: 13-22.
31. Casciaro F, Laterza V, Conte S, et al. Alpha-rhythm stimulation using brain entrainment enhances heart rate variability in subjects with reduced HRV. World J Neurosci 2013; 3: 213-20.
32. Wiederhold BK, Riva G, Bouchard S. Annual re-view of cybertherapy and telemedicine 2011. Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press; 2011.
33. Bavafa A, Foroughi A, Jaberghaderi N, et al. Binau-ral beat theta and its impact on primary insomniacs: A randomized clinical trial. Med J Mashad Univ Med Sci 2019; 62: 138-46.
34. Li C, Zhang Y, Randhawa AK, et al. Emotional exhaustion and sleep problems in university students: Does mental toughness matter? Pers Individ Differ 2020; 163: 110046.
35. Fowler CH, Miernicki ME, Rudolph KD, et al. Dis-rupted amygdala-prefrontal connectivity during emo-tion regulation links stress-reactive rumination and adolescent depressive symptoms. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 27: 99-106.
36. Putnam KM, McSweeney LB. Depressive symp-toms and baseline prefrontal EEG alpha activity: A study utilizing Ecological Momentary Assessment Biol Psychol 2008; 77: 237-40.
37. Lopez-Caballero F, Escera C. Binaural beat: A fail-ure to enhance EEG power and emotional arousal. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11: 557.
38. Bang YR, Choi HY, Yoon IY. Minimal effects of binaural auditory beats for subclinical insomnia: A randomized double-blind controlled study. J Clin Psychopharmacol 2019; 39: 499-503.
39. Munro BA, Searchfield GD. The short-term effects of recorded ocean sound with and without alpha fre-quency binaural beats on tinnitus perception. Comple-ment Ther Med 2019; 44: 291-5.
40. Foster DS. EEG and subjective correlates of alpha frequency binaural beats stimulation combined with alpha biofeedback. Memphis, TN: Memphis State University; 1990.
41. Wahbeh H, Calabrese C, Zwickey H. Binaural beat technology in humans: a pilot study to assess psycho-logic and physiologic effects. J Altern Complement Med 2007; 13: 25-32.
42. von Stein A, Sarnthein J. Different frequencies for different scales of cortical integration: from local gamma to long range alpha/theta synchronization. Int J Psychophysiol 2000; 38: 301-13.
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| Issue | Vol 6 No 3-4 (2021): Summer-Autumn | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/jss.v6i(3-4).10885 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Atrial premature complexes Dichotic listening tests Rumination syndrome Sleep Students | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Shalforoushan M, Bagherzadeh Golmakani Z. The Effectiveness of Alpha Binaural Beats in Reducing Stress and Rumination and Promoting Sleep Quality in University Students with Poor Sleep Quality. J Sleep Sci. 2022;6(3-4):67-73.
