This Device Can Take Your Brain's Signal To Help You Meditate

It sounds crazy when you can move things by thinking like in fantasy movies, but a Canadian company - Interaxon, has pursued this goal. After the plan did not materialize, scientists and engineers sought a more pragmatic and less ambitious goal, but millions of people remained concerned about their plans.

As our lives get tense, many people find ways to help their minds get better and less stressed at work. Meditation is one of the most popular exercises for many people of different ages.

A device invented by the company is Muse, which is capable of measuring the rhythm of the brain and providing real-time feedback, tracking the state of the meditator.

This is a rather daring plan, but the company has received nearly $ 30 million in support of the device, called "a personal meditation assistant."

Muse was upgraded Tuesday by its inventors, enabling it to track multiple health signals, including body movements and heart rate. At the same time, Muse also has the ability to provide a variety of educational programs as well as a dashboard to help users monitor their own condition. With this innovative device, it will be called "Muse 2" (currently available for $ 249).

Previously, Interaxon had spent more than ten years of manufacturing original equipment that was launched in 2014. Since then, the device has become one of the most sold brain-sensing devices in history with hundreds of thousands of users from everywhere.

A few weeks before the release of the new version, CNBC invited founders to visit their offices. They said they are looking forward to experiencing this device as a person who has no regular meditation.

Access to Muse

CNBC has experimented with the demo of the inventor given to them. Katle Brigham (who experiences at CNBC) said that it was not difficult to wear this device and it was not uncomfortable to put it on the head. When she tucks the loose hair into the back of her ear to hold the device firmly on her head. Although wearing it for a long time (20 minutes) it left a faint line on her forehead, but she did not feel uncomfortable wearing it. And there is a little tip to you that you should not take it when preparing for job interviews, dating and especially the first meeting.

To set up with the device, you have to download a Muse application onto the iPhone. There is a gentle gentle female voice that tells you to find a comfortable position, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Do not try to get rid of negative thoughts because thinking that it will read your mind, actually, it can not.

Katle Brigham

When you start meditating, you have the option to meditate like a bird with a rain, making you feel like you are in the middle of a jungle.

For a number of reasons they do not meditate often but Muse reminded them to meditate more often. They said after a few deep breaths, you feel much more relaxed and calm. When starting to think of another job, the background noise will be clearer. According to Muse, when the mind is busy, the sound of the rain will be louder. Then, we can push our thoughts to distract ourselves so that we can concentrate on our own breath. After a while, we will feel the birds chirping, meaning that our concentration and equanimity have returned.

CNBC's Christina Farr meditates with the help of Muse 2

After the meditation process is over, we can revisit our mind map previously on the Muse application. When we see some birds, it means that when we meditate, we have reached the state of calm and the least anxiety. And we see some correlations between what we feel and the data given on the application, such as the moments we feel calm and the moments of anxiety and distraction.

According to the experimenter, Katle Brigham expects to experience guided meditation because Muse 2 has helped her meditate and bring back very good feedback. This device is very useful for those who are often frightened of meditation.

The most regret for her is that the sounds in Muse are distracting because she only focuses on the moment rather than on her own breath.

Other special features

Muse is also featured in the new features. It has the ability to help users think about their friends and colleagues when using them.

This is a very strange and exciting experience, so this device is likely to help those who are highly competitive to learn meditation and to think more positively.

Indre Viskontas is a neurologist and is always interested in new technologies related to brain waves. So CNBC has asked for a statement on her new device when she has no link with the company producing the Muse.

Katle Brigham

Viskontas also responded to a request for comment on the Muse as well as other devices in the same category. She says brain wave measurement only shows part of how the brain works, which does not reflect the thoughts of a person.

However, Viskontas also expects these technologies to grow and helpful in the future, especially for people who have difficulty meditating.