Smart Headbands Claim to Make People Calmer

The Massachusetts-based BrainCo invited Emma Baumert, a USA Bobsled/Skeleton development team member, to become a part-time researcher. Now, Baumert uses a headband that is a neurofeedback or EEG (electroencephalogram) device. Notably, the athlete is also a certified weightlifting coach with a master’s degree in exercise psychology.

Baumert believes the smart headband works as she got to learn how to have better control. What’s more, she can figure out which training she needs to get into a calmer state while releasing a lot of power.

According to BrainCo’s president, Max Newlon, the headband’s AI software algorithm monitors 1,250 data points from a person’s brain waves’ signals. Once connected to a phone app, it scores these from 0 to 100, with 100 being the calmest.

As such, the average person usually places around the 50 mark. Newlon further stated that nothing goes into the brain while using the headband as it uses only a passive measure.

The headband is particularly popular among sportspeople. Along with meditation, it helps them boost their performance and be calmer.

Another smart headband called the “Muse” was created by the Canadian EEG developer InteraXon in 2014.  Besides measuring the brain waves, it also records a person’s heart rate, breathing speed, and posture. You can also connect it to a complementary app that plays calming sounds.

All in all, Baumert urged athletes not to see these headbands as a “magic trick.” Instead, “take what you’ve learned, and then just put it right into practice,” the athlete says.