In the post-modernization era, or the 21st century, every country enhances excellence in every way including politics, economy, society and education through digital technology. The challenges to individuals and societies imposed by globalization and modernization are widely acknowledged. Living under pressure and rapid change lead to the accumulation of stress for people at all levels, particularly workers and students. Excessive stress has harmful effects on mental health which can cause a great deal of suffering. This paper shares preliminary data on the effect of using binaural beat auditory stimulation for relieving stress. 

For this study, nature sounds were used in combination with binaural beats. Seven participants were selected from Year 3 and Year 4 undergraduate student populations (n=7). The findings from this pilot study revealed that participants experienced high levels of stress (M=11.14: Total score = 15). Using natural sounds combined with binaural beats, it was found that the happiness index before and after the experiment increased significantly from 28.25 to 34.0. The findings correspond to the analysis of brain changes with experimental setup in 14 EEG signals. At the frontal lobe and the temporal lobe, the average alpha wave while listening to binaural beats is higher than that of the beta wave in all positions.

Results suggest that listeners were able to experience a range of positive emotions, including relaxation and happiness. These promising results show that binaural beat auditory stimulation is effective in terms of alpha wave stimulation. The findings suggest a need for a larger-scale study and the development of binaural beat songs for data analysis.