By now, you’ve probably heard all about the benefits meditation can provide for you. Not only has it been shown to improve brain health, many turn to it as a way to relieve stress and increase their focus and attention. Some are even using meditation as a way to cope with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Because it’s been shown to be such a powerful habit, it’s no wonder so many people are interested in trying it out.
However, there are a lot of people who struggle with meditation. They find it difficult to calm their minds or they often wonder if they’re doing it right. It can be both frustrating and discouraging for someone who is just getting into meditation for the first time.
The good news is, there’s a company that hopes to make meditation a little easier for you — Muse.
Muse has developed a brain sensing headband that detects brain activity to guide and monitor your mind throughout the meditation process. It allows you to see how active your mind is and can guide you back to a state of calm through the use of sound.
The reason this headband is a game changer is because it’s going to give you real-time feedback for every meditation session you complete. Once you’re done, you’ll immediately see how well you performed and you can get tips on how to improve. It’s the best way to track your progress when it comes to meditation, but it’ll also help you get into the regular habit of taking time for mindfulness.
If you could use a little help getting into meditation, the Muse headband just might be what you need to get started. Keep reading for our full review to learn what the headband actually does, how it works, and more…
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What is the Muse Headband?
Muse has deemed this headband to be your “personal meditation assistant.” The reason for this title is that they’ve designed the headband to not only help you become better at meditation, but also to get you into the habit of meditating on a regular basis. The combination of the brain-sensing headband and their smartphone app will help guide you to a calm, focused mind, making meditation much easier.
All you have to do is place this slim headband around your head. It has a sleek, stylish design that you can feel comfortable using both inside and outside your home. Next, you have to pair it with your smartphone via Bluetooth. There are multiple sensors on the headband that monitor and detect your brain’s activity while you’re in a meditation session. These sensors can pick up on your brain waves because your brain constantly omits electrical signals, even when you’re asleep or in a relaxed state.
One important thing to note here is that brain waves are typically broken down into five bands. Each of those five bands can be detected by the Muse headband. Those brain wave bands include: delta waves, theta waves, alpha waves, beta waves, and gamma waves.
It works by then translating your brain signals into sounds that then guide your meditations. If your mind is calm, you’ll hear more soothing weather sounds. If your mind becomes active, the weather sounds will intensify. This is meant to guide you back to a calm state. Whenever the sounds become louder, that’s your reminder to let those thoughts pass so you can get focused again. Once the sounds return to being calming and soothing, you’ll know you’re on the right path. It really eliminates the stress of wondering if you’re meditating correctly.
The feedback you receive at the end of your meditation session will truly be invaluable for anyone who wants to get better at meditation. It shows you how calm your brain was versus how active it was. Since these results are saved in your private profile, you can track your progress over time and watch yourself improve. After all, the more you practice meditation, the better you will become at it.
To encourage you to meditate regularly, there are milestones and rewards for you to hit so you’ll feel that push to keep moving forward. They have even added exercises that have been contributed by meditation experts, which are another helpful way for you to learn meditation.
How Does it Work?
So, how exactly does this brain sensing headband work? It’s actually pretty simple to get everything set up and ready for its first use. You just need to begin by downloading the Muse app on your smartphone, which you can find in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Once you’ve downloaded the app, you’ll connect the headband to your device via Bluetooth. You’ll only have to do this once and it’s a quick and easy process.
Next, you’ll find a tutorial available for you within the Muse app. You’ll want to check that out first to learn how to adjust the headband to perfectly fit your head and to ensure it’s receiving an accurate reading. By taking the time to go through these steps first, you’re going to have a much better experience when using the Muse headband.
Before you can begin a session, you’ll have to do the calibration process first. There are seven calibrated sensors on the headband as there are two on the forehead, two behind the ears, as well as three references sensors. With all these sensors, it’s important to take the time to calibrate them. In fact, Muse recommends doing this before every session because your brain activity is different every single day. This step allows the Muse headband to get an image of your brain in a natural state, which will help get a better understanding of your brain signals.
After you’ve calibrated the headband, you’re ready to get started with your meditation session. You’ll use the app on your phone to begin the process. Your brain signals will be translated into the sounds of nature (like wind, for example), which will sound calm only when your mind is calm. If your mind is active with a lot of thoughts, the sounds will become louder and more intense. This is your indication to work on getting back to that point of focus and calming your mind.
There are a few different sound settings you can choose from, but you can expect to hear noises such as wind, chirping birds, light rain to heavy rain, and even thunder. No matter which settings you choose, the sounds will always intensify if your brain becomes busy.
Once you’ve completed your session, you’ll be able to see your results right on the app. All of the data is provided through graphs and charts that show how your brain performed. You’ll be able to see just how much time your brain spent in a calm state and how often it became active again. The results of every session are saved in your app for you to view privately, which means you can track your progress over time.
To encourage you to get better with every use of the Muse headband, they’ve made it into a little game where you receive points, can meet goals, and take on challenges and bonuses. It’s a great way to keep yourself motivated and to get you using the headband on a regular basis. You’ll notice that in time your ability to focus will increase, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t perform well the first time around.
Why Should I Meditate With the Muse Headband?
It’s no secret that you can obviously meditate without purchasing a headband like this one from Muse. For that reason, you might be questioning why something like this would be a worthwhile purchase to make. Well, the biggest reason is the real-time feedback the headband and the app provide you regarding your brain activity during meditation.
The feedback you receive will allow you to see how calm your brain is when you meditate and it shows how often you see spikes in brain activity. While you might find it difficult to keep your mind calm when you first begin meditating, the app provides tips and suggestions and encourages regular usage so you can get better and truly reap the benefits of meditation. Simply starting with a three to five minute session will help you on the way to building the habit of meditation. Before you know it, you’ll be meditating regularly and performing better and better each time.
What Else Do I Need to Know?
One of the first things you might be wondering is whether or not this device is safe to use. While you can learn more details on the Muse website, they have assured customers the headband has been tested and certified to meet United States, Canadian, and European regulations.
It’s also important to note that the headband uses Bluetooth to send information, which are significantly less powerful radio waves than the radio waves that come from a cell phone. They have even positioned the Bluetooth antenna inside the headband so that it is on the the outside of the circuit board. This means any signals it produces are directed away from your head.
All of the data the app collects is stored on your mobile device and within the Muse cloud servers. Before the information goes into the cloud, it is made anonymous and cannot be accessed by anyone unless you give Muse permission. They take great pride in maintaining their customers’ privacy, so you can feel comfortable storing data with them.
What Customers Are Saying
A quick search online will reveal plenty of reviews from customers who have had the opportunity to try out the Muse headband for themselves. Most of those reviews seem to be overwhelmingly positive from users who have been truly enjoying the experience the headband has provided to them.
Happy customers have said the headband provided accurate results and allowed them to clearly track brain activity during each meditation session. They even appreciate the gamification side of the app that provides you with points and rewards as a motivator to keep working hard. It sounds simple, but it’s the small things like that which make a huge difference. People love a little competition and this pushes them to do better every single time.
Others raved about how easy it was to set up, as well as how affordable they found it when compared to similar devices that are currently on the market. Overall, it seems like people are pretty pleased with the Muse headband and how it has improved meditation for them.
How Do I Buy One of These?
If you’re intrigued by the Muse headband and ready to purchase one of your very own, you can place your order through the Muse website or via Amazon, as well as a few other online retailers. In the United States, you can even find it in your local Target store. If you want, you can also order a case to keep your headband safe when taking it with you.
When ordering from the Muse website, the headband will cost you $249. You can add a hard carrying case for $29.99. You also have the option of choosing a black headband or a white headband, so you can choose the one that best suits your style. Considering it is available through a few different retailers, you can always do a little comparison shopping to see who has the best price available. However, the best part about ordering direct from the Muse website is that they give you a 60 day guarantee and free shipping.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Muse headband seems to be a pretty impressive device. With all the benefits that are known about meditation, it’s no wonder so many people are wanting to try it out for themselves. However, instead of feeling stressed that they aren’t doing it right, this headband is going to guide them down the path to successful meditation.
Being able to track your brain waves during meditation isn’t something you’d typically have access to, but it’s going to be invaluable to anyone who wants to get better at this skill. In time, you’ll become a meditation pro and you’ll be making time for it on a daily basis thanks to the brain sensing headband Muse has created.