The effects of auditory brainwave entrainment on the psychophysical health of healthcare programs students

Objective: This pilot study aimed to explore the modulatory potential of auditory Brainwave Entrainment (aBWE) on the emotional and physical well-being of college students enrolled in healthcare programs.Methods: All enrolled participants from the Seminole State College received the same intervention of daily aBWE sessions over a 12-week period.Evaluations were conducted at the outset (1 st week), midpoint (6 th week), and conclusion (12 th week), utilizing four distinct questionnaires: the Pittsburgh quality of sleep index (PQSI), the perceived stress scale (PSS), the generalized anxiety disorder 7 (GAD-7), and the profile of mood States (POMS).Results: Twenty-nine participants (mean age of 39.41) completed the study.In the PQSI, reductions were observed in Subjective Sleep Quality (p = 0.0039), Sleep Latency (p = 0.0454), and the Global Score (p = 0.0175).The PSS indicated significant reductions in stress after 6 weeks (p = 0.0402) and 12 weeks (p = 0.0006).The GAD-7 scale revealed a significant reduction in anxiety by the final evaluation (p < 0.0001).Similarly, the POMS questionnaire showed significant decreases in Tension at both midpoint (p = 0.0259) and final evaluations (p = 0.0001), along with reductions in Total Mood Disturbance (midpoint p = 0.0485, final p < 0.0001).In addition, significant improvements were noted in Depression (p = 0.0314), Anger (p = 0.0454), Vigor (p = 0.0297), Fatigue (p = 0.0002), and Confusion (p = 0.0019) by the final evaluation.Conclusions: We conclude that aBWE presents a promising intervention for enhancing sleep quality, mood states, and reducing stress and anxiety, without any reported adverse effects, indicating its safety.