With nothing more than an internet connection, you can improve your sleep, reduce anxiety, and … supposedly "enter the fourth dimension" (according to this video). Such are the bold promises of binaural beats, a kind of auditory illusion or digital drug that, some advocates say, can produce psychoactive effects resembling everything from ayahuasca to cocaine.
While watching the above video, one commenter reported visiting a world “with trees that had crystals and seashells for leaves.” To which another replied, “I’m excited to go there too. It’s just a bit hard for me.”
Apparently, not all who partake reach that magical realm (including this writer). In fact, as far as empirical research is concerned, it remains unclear whether anyone is actually getting high through headphones.
Nevertheless, a 2021 Global Drug Survey found that just over 5 percent of respondents — our of nearly 31,000 people — had listened to binaural beats ...
