The Muse, marketed by InteraXon, is a brain sensing headband that leads the pack right now when it comes to detecting brain activity and using the feedback to enhance your meditation. Ariel Garten is CEO and co-founder of the company. Jason Hartman invites her to the Longevity & Biohacking Show for a discussion about how to improve your meditation tactics through this nifty little device.
More About Ariel
Ariel studied neuroscience at the University of Toronto and did research in hippocampal neurogenesis at Toronto’s esteemed Krembil Neuroscience Centre. Ariel is also a psychotherapist, a fashion designer whose clothing opened Toronto Fashion Week in 2003, and an artist whose work has been displayed at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Ariel’s unique combination of science and art is integral to the design of every aspect of Muse and to InteraXon’s approach to brain sensing technology as it seeks to make the device a vital part of everyday life.
New Wave of Meditation Tactics
At its core, the Muse is a new twist on a very old idea stretching back thousands of years to Japan, China, and India. Practitioners of the art realize the importance of focus in achieving the meditative state. That’s where the Muse headband comes in – helping your brain learn to focus and find that state.
Essentially the Muse tracks electrical impulses in the brain and provides real time feedback regarding when your are focused and when your mind wanders. It’s a way to actively train your brain to help perfect your meditative skills.
Why Meditation?
The fact that meditation has been in use for 15,000 years, by some accounts, should be all the testimony a person needs to agree to its benefit, but maybe you need more. There have been in excess of 1,000 published studies that agree practicing meditation is a reliable way to lower stress levels, ramp up energy levels, and improve overall health. Back in the 1960’s it was perceived by a percentage of the population as a silly waste of time indulged in by flower children, pot smokers, and people with too much time on their hands. It seems that the Western world has always had a hard time wrapping its collective mind around the legitimate effectiveness of Eastern style medicine.
Meditation – the Easy Way
These days, a much larger percentage of the population might be inclined to agree with the value of meditation but still would claim it was too complicated or they didn’t know how to get started. Welcome to Muse! Ms. Garten didn’t come right out and say it but the headband is basically an effective meditation for idiots introduction. Seriously, those previously afraid or intimidated by the idea of starting meditation should know that Muse was designed to demystify the process.
How Long to Use Muse
While use of the Muse headband has been tested for time spans as low as three minutes daily all the way up to several hours, InteraXon studied the device on complete novices to meditation for ten minutes daily over a six week span. The results? Predictably positive. Users reported an increase in calmness, more focus in daily activities, and even better decision-making skills. Additionally, says Garten, they were living more in the present and notably happier.
Market Penetration
Does anyone out there in the general population actually the Muse? The answer appears to be a resounding “Yes!” According to Garten, more than 120 medical clinics use the headband, and in a variety of ways, including cancer clinics and developers’ in search of new and different apps to sell.
And don’t forget you can pick up your very own Muse at everyone’s favorite mega electronics store (Best Buy) for the low price of $250. Poking fun aside, you know Best Buy isn’t going to stock a product unless they have done the market research and are pretty dang sure there are people out there who will buy it.
Entering Johnson’s Fun House
At this point in the interview, Jason can’t help asking if, going beyond meditation tactics, the Muse can be used to read other peoples’ thoughts? Never fear. Outside of current testing by the CIA at Area 51, technology to read minds hasn’t arrived yet. Maybe it never will but it certainly isn’t built into the Muse.
The way it works is similar to how sensors during an EKG pick up pulses from the heart. The Muse is packed with sensors designed to detect electrical impulses from the brain and convert the results into information designed to guide the user along his or her meditation journey. See? That’s a long way from picking up specific thoughts. While neither host nor guest would say mind-reading technology will never happen, it doesn’t seem that we’re anywhere close to that kind of breakthrough. The Muse simply detects changes in brainwaves. An analogy might be using a device to tell if someone is talking or not talking without having any idea of what they’re saying.
The History of The Muse
The technology incorporated into the Muse goes all the way back to the 1970’s, when there were a few attempts to bring a product to market based around EEG technology. None were successful. And even Garten’s product went through at least 100 iterations before arriving at the final design, which was launched in its current form in late 2014.
The Bottom Line
If you’re interested in de-stressing your life and filling it up with positive, focused energy, meditation might be the thing for you. Even if you’ve failed in previous attempts, the Muse might be just the thing you’re looking for. More information is available at ChooseMuse.com . And, yes, you really can get it at Best Buy. (Image: Flickr | HaPe_Gera)
More from Jason Hartman:
A Breakthrough Self-Treatment System to Eliminate Chronic Pain
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The Longevity Show Team
