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It’s no secret that the anxiety, fear, and isolation brought about by large-scale crises such as wars and natural disasters have a population-wide psychological toll. In Britain, the Office for National Statistics reports that the number of adults with depression has doubled during the pandemic. In the U.S., the prevalence of depression symptoms increased over 3-fold during the pandemic than before it. This data comes from a recent study published in JAMA Network Open. The researchers term the contributing factors as “COVID-19 stressors.” These include job loss, a close one’s demise due to the virus and having financial problems.

Even if these reports pertain to only two countries, people worldwide are experiencing similar challenges from those so-called COVID-19 stressors and the subsequent effects on their mental health; as you can probably attest yourself. It seems that on top of the pandemic, we are facing an epidemic on our collective psychological well-being.  “The pandemic has turned lives upside down, and for some people, it will have put greater strain on their mental health,” Claire Murdoch, national mental health director for the NHS, rightly said.

Thankfully, simple, at-home tweaks can work wonders to improve mental health. Exercise has been proven to reduce depression risk, while meditation has been linked to improved mental health. Thanks to digital health technologies, the abstract concept of meditation has become more accessible through apps and quantifiable with smart headbands. 

For this article, we conducted a little experiment focusing on 3 meditation devices: the Muse S, BrainLink Pro and NeoRhythm. Let’s see them!

Muse S Meditation Device: the brain’s muse

We reviewed the original Muse before and the Muse S is the company’s latest addition to its growing line of meditation headbands. Unlike its predecessors, the Muse S packs a radically different look. Rather than having a sci-fi aesthetic, this smart headband could almost be mistaken for a sports sweatband due to its soft fabric finish. This material really makes for a comfortable use of the device. The comfort is also enhanced by the fact that the whole headband is very light and adjustable so that you can find the perfect fit for your head. On a hardware aspect, it is evident that much thought went into designing the device.

Thankfully, the same can be said of the software. It offers a lot in terms of meditation from guided courses through heart meditation to timed sessions. The introductory, free meditation sessions help you get acquainted with the Muse S’s multiple sensors to determine your brainwaves, stillness, heart rate and breathing pattern. Those sessions pair with rhythmic soundtracks that evolve in tandem to the user’s actions: calm mind? You’ll hear birds chirping. Staying still? The wind chimes will quiet down. It has a learning curve but these sessions do help in better understanding how to relax with your breath and posture.

However, the guided meditation comes in a subscription format at an extra cost. The device itself also doesn’t come cheap at $350. But these do help give users a deeper understanding of the practice with guidance from expert coaches; some of whom are neuroscientists explaining the scientific benefits of meditation.

After each session, you get a summary of your results showing your brain’s electroencephalogram; these correlate to the active or relaxed status of your mind. These summaries are also gamified in a sense that results come with stats and awards you unlock during your session, such as by staying still or being calmer for an extended period. We found these to be a great way to keep track of our progress and to know where to improve.

Verdict: The Muse S is an all-rounder of a meditation headband; it offers a great way to pick up meditation or improve on it in a fun, engaging and quantified way.

BrainLink Pro: linking the brain to apps and devices

When it comes to the looks, the BrainLink Pro bears more resemblance to the previous Muse design models as it also screams sci-fi by the looks alone. It differs in that it has an ear clip containing an electrode for measuring brain activity; rather than having all electrodes within the headband. Additionally, it features an “EmoLight” strip that changes colour based on your brainwave’s pattern that somewhat gives it a more sci-fi feeling in use. It’s also light and easy to wear. Upon removing, you might notice imprints of the front electrodes as these press on the forehead; but it’s just a very temporary cosmetic issue really.

While it’s also a fully-functional meditation device, getting the most out of the BrainLink Pro requires going through additional hoops. This is because the manufacturer has several apps rather than a centralised one. There’s the BrainLink app that helps you train your focus and relaxation by levitating on-screen objects. We found this great to train one’s mind about shifting from focusing/relaxing. But it feels rather simplistic in the long run.

Then there’s a separate guided meditation app to get more helpful meditation practice; and finally there’s a Basic Detection app if you want to step up your game. The latter gives additional statistics and raw data on alpha, beta, theta waves; and also details the time spent on relaxing/focusing. Apple iOS users have even more apps that use the device’s brain-sensing abilities to play games, which are really well-hidden ways to meditate. 

If you have some more money to spare, you could even pair the headband to the company’s “Mind Control Series”. These include robots and a book lamp that you can control through your brainwaves alone by focusing or relaxing; it is quite frankly a cool concept. 

BrainLink’s ability to go beyond audio guides to offer novel ways to try meditation is interesting and quite unique on the market. Compared to the Muse S, the BrainLink Pro is cheaper. It’s around $295, and there’s also a Lite model at around $170. While it offers a different user experience, you can get more out of it if you dig around.

Verdict: This device doesn’t offer the best initial user experience; but if you dig a bit deeper, it will offer some compelling features that can help you meditate with more than just audio cues.

NeoRhythm Meditation Device: synchronising your brain

Here’s a device unlike the two brain-sensing meditation headbands above as the NeoRhythm is a brain-stimutating meditation device. It achieves this through pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) technology to emit frequencies to which the brain synchronises. Such magnetic field therapy has also been employed to relieve symptoms of back pain, depression and even tested by NASA. By emitting safe, rhythmic pulses that mimic a desired state of mind, it induces the brain to enter this “mode”. NeoRhythm’s effectiveness, rather than the technology in general, was even proven by 2 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies.

Using it is very easy and effortless. After pairing it with the companion app, choose a desired “mode” and slip it on your head. To assist in meditation, the headband stimulates the brain with dominant theta waves. These waves are abundant during deep meditation and can be generated by the NeoRhythm to encourage the brain to get in sync; and hence help you get in the right state of mind to meditate.

Like we mentioned in our review, it’s quite tricky to conclusively say the NeoRhythm helps with neurostimulation whether to meditate better or increase focus. That’s mainly because the device lacks sensors that could provide biofeedback on your progress. As such, a user’s feedback will be rather subjective. You could in theory pair a device like the BrainLink to visualise progress. But that’s as practical as having two devices wrapped around your head, which is not at all practical. Plus, you’ll need to invest in a second device; and the NeoRhythm doesn’t come cheap either at $309 at the time of writing. 

Additionally, neurostimulation is a relatively understudied field. But the double-blind studies do help make the case for the NeoRhythm, and the company has recently embarked on another research to examine, among others, the device’s long-term impact. It’s quite encouraging to see the company seeking further scientific validation of the effectiveness of the technology and its device itself.

Verdict: NeoRhythm offers more than just helping you with meditation. It can also improve sleep, focus and more with its neurostimulating PEMF technology, which is still relatively juvenile but has promising potential.

Should you strap one of these around your head?

You might have noticed that these devices don’t come cheap. There are several smartphone apps for meditation that come with much cheaper subscription offers or are simply free. However, while these might offer professional guidance, they lack a crucial element: biofeedback. Having sensors provide biological information about the user’s performance is key to determine if they are on the right track or not.

Without these sensors, you cannot objectively know what works for you and where to improve. Maybe lying down or listening to natural soundscapes help better. With EEG readings you will have a quantifiable method of knowing this, rather than relying on your gut feeling. Either the BrainLink Pro or the Muse S will help in achieving this. The NeoRhythm lacks such sensors as well but can help you enter the desired state of mind to meditate.

Ultimately, you will also need to learn how to meditate and relax whenever you need it; without having a meditation device to help you. Learning the ropes to do so when you have an important meeting, an exam or an interview without a device, conversely, starts with a dedicated device. If you are still sceptical, you can try a free app like Smiling Mind to begin mediation. You might then better appreciate the need for a meditation device to improve upon your practice.

The post We Used 3 Devices For Meditation – Here’s What We Found appeared first on The Medical Futurist.