How isochronic tones work
An isochronic tone is the bluntest instrument in rhythmic audio: a carrier tone gated fully on and off at a precise rate. Where binaural beats ask your brain to infer a rhythm from two slightly detuned tones, isochronic tones hand it the rhythm directly - which is why they feel so much more pronounced, and why they survive speakers, room acoustics, and one earbud falling out.
The pulse rates map to EEG bands: delta (deep sleep), theta (drowsy, meditative), alpha (relaxed, eyes-closed calm), beta (alert focus), gamma (the 40 Hz band that current neuroscience research uses in sensory stimulation studies). Rhythmic sound demonstrably drives measurable auditory responses at these rates; whether that translates into better sleep or focus varies by person - run your own two-week experiment and keep what works.
Prefer the gentler variant, or want to layer rhythms under music? Compare with our binaural beats generator (headphones required), or read the full binaural beats guide for the state of the evidence on brainwave entrainment generally.