Science
Every claim on this site is graded against the literature.
Most wellness products either ignore the evidence or inflate it. We've taken a different position. Every claim on this site is graded into one of three tiers, the tier is visible to you, and the citations link to the papers. You can check the working.
For the listener-facing translation of these claims, see the methods catalogue (the seventeen techniques, named) and the eight support areas (each linked to its evidence base on this page).
Established — multiple RCTs, ideally synthesised. Emerging — single trials or small samples, the picture not yet settled. Speculative — design lineage only, no rigorous clinical evidence. Tier visible on every claim.
How we grade evidence
Three tiers, one rule per tier.
Multiple high-quality RCTs, ideally synthesised in a Cochrane review or peer-reviewed meta-analysis. Independently replicated. Effect sizes that matter.
Single trials, small-sample studies, or evidence with mixed independent replication. The effects look real; the picture isn't settled yet.
Cultural or design inspiration only. No rigorous clinical evidence. We draw on the lineage honestly. We don't make therapeutic claims from it.
Every major claim, graded
What we draw on, and how confidently.
Music-based interventions in dementia
EstablishedMultiple Cochrane reviews and the MIDDEL trial — the largest dementia music-therapy RCT ever conducted, around 1,000 residents across six countries — establish music-based listening as effective adjunctive support for the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.
Music therapy for depressive symptoms
EstablishedA 2025 BJPsych Open meta-analysis reports a standardised mean difference of about −0.97 across studies of music-based intervention for depressive symptoms — clinically meaningful.
Music interventions in cancer-related symptoms
EstablishedBradt et al., Cochrane 2021, reviewed 81 trials of music interventions for cancer-related psychological and physical symptoms, with consistent positive effects on anxiety, fatigue, pain, and quality of life.
Perioperative binaural beats for procedural anxiety
EstablishedA 2025 meta-analysis of 15 RCTs reports an SMD of about −1.38 for binaural-beat-embedded interventions on procedural anxiety — an effect size in the range typically achieved by pharmacological premedication.
Rhythmic auditory stimulation in stroke gait rehabilitation
EstablishedThe pivotal Nature Communications 2024 RCT of MedRhythms' InTandem device established rhythmic auditory stimulation as effective for gait rehabilitation post-stroke; the device received FDA clearance on this basis.
Binaural-beat-embedded soundscapes for state anxiety
EmergingMultiple smaller trials show binaural-embedded soundscapes can reduce state anxiety in non-clinical contexts. The proposed EEG-entrainment mechanism remains disputed. The clinical effect is more robust than the mechanism that's supposed to explain it.
Where the evidence could move
A high-powered, registered RCT replicating the effect sizes in non-clinical adults with active control would move this to Established. A null replication at adequate power would move us to caution language.
Musical amplitude modulation for attention
EmergingEmbedded amplitude modulation in music has shown effects on neural phase-locking and self-reported focus. The strongest 2024 validation study has company-conflict caveats; independent replication is partial.
Where the evidence could move
Independent replication of the attention effects in non-Brain.fm contexts would move this to Established.
Open-loop pink-noise sleep pulse scheduling
EmergingScheduled open-loop pink-noise pulses approximate the timing patterns of closed-loop slow-wave-stimulation studies. A conservative approximation — not equivalent to EEG-timed stimulation.
ASMR for sleep onset and acute anxiety in responders
EmergingASMR-style auditory triggers reliably produce a tingle response in roughly 20–30% of listeners, with self-reported relaxation effects. The mechanism isn't settled. The effects are responder-dependent.
Vibroacoustic stimulation for HRV and stress
EmergingVibroacoustic stimulation shows positive HRV effects in laboratory contexts; at least one ketamine-adjunct trial returned null. The evidence is mixed.
Spatial / 3D audio for meditation depth
EmergingSmall studies suggest spatially-rendered audio supports deeper meditation states than stereo. The samples are small; the mechanism is plausible but not nailed.
Monroe Institute / Hemi-Sync / Gateway lineage
SpeculativeThe headphone induction phase that opens every Soundscaper session draws structurally on the Monroe Institute's Hemi-Sync method and the declassified 1983 CIA Gateway report. We treat this as design lineage and inspiration. We don't claim consciousness expansion, remote viewing, or any of the extraordinary-perception claims associated with the Gateway tradition.
The "ancient solfeggio" frequencies
SpeculativeThe 174, 285, 396, 417, 528, 639, 741, 852, and 963 Hz frequency set commonly marketed as ancient solfeggio is a 1970s reconstruction with no Gregorian or pre-modern lineage. Therapeutic claims attached to specific tunings — most loudly the 528 Hz “DNA repair” claim — have no support in mainstream physics or biology.
What we won't claim
The category we're not joining.
We don't claim consciousness expansion, remote viewing, EEG entrainment as an outcome, infrasound benefits, the 528 Hz DNA-repair story, or that any of our recordings will treat anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD, ADHD, or any clinical condition. The Mozart Effect — the canonical wellness over-claim — is a cautionary tale on this site, not a sales pitch.
We'd rather have a smaller claim set we can defend than a larger one a journalist could pull apart. That's the position.
Bibliography
Sources, in full.
Each Tier 1 and Tier 2 entry above links to the underlying paper, where one is publicly indexed. Where a citation links here, it's because the full reference list is being typeset for publication alongside the field guide. If you'd like an early copy of the working bibliography, email us.