The Effectiveness of Binaural Beats on Learning Focus Among Indonesian High School Students

Sustaining attention and learning focus is a significant challenge that significantly disrupts academic performance among adolescents, particularly high school students. This study hypothesized that Beta stimulation will primarily enhance concentration and processing speed, while Alpha stimulation will facilitate superior working memory performance. To test this hypothesis, this study aimed to evaluate the differential efficacy of Alpha and Beta binaural beats on the cognitive performance among high school students. A true experimental pre-test-post-test control group design was employed involving 64 students from SMA Negeri 1 Nganjuk, Indonesia. Cognitive domains consisting of concentration, processing speed, working memory, and cognitive flexibility were assessed using the d2 Test, Stroop Test, N-back Task, and Trail Making Test (TMT). Mixed Multivariate Analysis of Variance (Mixed MANOVA) revealed a statistically significant Time × Stimulus Group interaction (Wilks' λ = .692, F = 2.936, p = .005) with a substantial effect size (ηp² = 0.168). Post-hoc analyses demonstrated that the Beta group exhibited a significant advantage in processing speed, significantly exceeding the Control group (p = .009, 95% CI [-5.6758, -.6486]). Conversely, while the Alpha group demonstrated the greatest enhancement in working memory, this difference did not reach conventional statistical significance when compared to the Beta group (p = .072). These findings suggest that binaural beats offer a potential non-invasive intervention for school counselors and educators to optimize student learning readiness based on specific cognitive requirements, though claims regarding long-term effectiveness require careful application.