MUSE 2: The Brain Sensing Headband - EEG MUSE Headband Meditation Tracker and Monitor - Multi Sensor Biofeedback Devices for Home Use with Responsive Sound Feedback Guidance - Neurofeedback Devices

I can't say enough about Muse 2...gave it a shot after initially dismissing as high-priced tech I didn't need. I'd dabbled with meditation over the years and thought I knew the routine. I'm really glad I did give Muse another look because it has been the catalyst over the last few months that allowed me to establish a meditation practice as an integral part of my daily life, and I can't overstate what that has meant to my overall well-being. It has been really rewarding after years of trying without much success to get traction with meditation casually using popular books or apps.I feel like this product can be a catalyst for anyone looking to get into meditation more seriously like I was.In overlooking the product initially, I underestimated how helpful Muse's real-time feedback would be for cultivating a serious meditation practice. It keeps me from wandering off into thought as often, and I've really felt the neurological benefits of staying rooted in that calm brainwave state for longer period of time.Because I've worked with Muse's feedback, I also get much more out of other meditation sessions because of the enhanced focus and skill I've gained via the headband. For me it has been as helpful as training wheels were when I was learning to ride a bike, which is not to say it's only a product for beginners/intermediates... I think anyone can deepen their practice using this feedback and data, or simply use it as a different and fun way to meditate among other methods. Beginners or expert meditators alike can conceivably meditate "smarter" and more enjoyably with Muse.More than just the main soundscape mode, the Muse app is wonderfully deep with interesting heart breath and lung exercises that work in a similar way as well as a great variety of guided subscription content from different instructors and experts you can add for a very reasonable price. Admittedly I have barely scratched the surface with the other modes because the basic main soundscape mode is so compelling to me, but I'm looking forward to exploring that more soon. All told at this point I now use my Muse headband for around 2-3 hours a day and can almost physically feel the heightened mental clarity sometimes.The only potential pitfall I'd mention is that the "gamefied" nature of the soundscape mode can start to undermine your zen mindset if you find yourself getting irritated occasionally when the chirping birds (that indicate calm brainwaves) aren't happening for you as readily during a particular session for whatever reason. That said, it's good practice to be able to recognize that feeling when it happens and learn to appreciate your effort whether the birds come or not. I'd also note that this is a risk only because Muse is surprisingly fun in addition to being so effective. Otherwise I wouldn't care about the birds!An added bonus for me is the availability of a third party app that provides additional data and graphs, and allows you to record your brainwaves to an excel sheet or other format for later review/graphing. That way, if you're a real data geek like me, you can monitor and record the brainwave data you generate during sessions with other meditation apps like Calm or Headspace.Lastly I'd just note that my experience with Muse's customer support has been really good. Responsive and helpful. These days the ability to get some help from actual humans who seem legitimately interested in sorting out your issue cannot be taken for granted.So if you're on the fence I'd encourage you to give Muse a shot and give it a few days to hook you. I'm really grateful I did because it changed my life immeasurably for the better and I feel like the best is yet to come.

So glad I made the jump to get this, after years of reading reviews and wondering if it would be another gadget that I would push aside after a while. I have been meditating since 2016, rarely missing a day, using Headspace (and sometimes TRIPP on Oculus Quest). I have an extremely distracted mind and sometimes I’d go a full 15 minutes forgetting that I was meditating, instead obsessing over something that happened years ago, yesterday or anxiety over what is coming up next week.Muse 2 is a game-changer for me. I’ve not only learned mindful awareness through some of their courses, but I’ve also learned how to tune everything out and focus on my breath *without* the device, like in a doctor’s waiting room or visiting my family, lol. I’ve become more self-aware and present throughout the day, aware of the floor beneath my feet or the sound of the outdoors. Basically, my busy mind has calmed considerably.I’ve never, ever had an issue with signal drop, so I can’t speak to that. I wonder if the negative reviewers may be expecting too much? It doesn't instantly make you meditate better and take you straight to nirvana, it trains your mind to do better over time.I’m especially intrigued at how accurate it tunes in to my brain. You can choose from several different soundscapes, such as City Park, Ocean, Rainforest, Desert, Gentle Rain, and I think there are others. The sound of the birds differ just a bit depending on the soundscape. I like the Rainforest, and the moment my thoughts drift to how funny my 5-year-old niece is, or the research paper I have to turn in, or the noise my husband is making in the kitchen, I immediately hear the chatter in the Rainforest get louder. As I bring my breath and attention back to the task at hand, the chatter dies down and I can once again hear the birds. (City Park is pretty cool though, you hear people chattering non-distinctly until your mind calms them down to quiet. Great practice for those get-togethers from which you want to mentally escape!)There was an update made just a couple of weeks ago that was very interesting! Premium subscribers (and I paid less than $20 for a year) can now listen to other apps on the same device, at the same time you use the Muse app. I loaded up binaural beats on Pandora and to my surprise, the beats didn’t help one bit, in fact they distracted me greatly. My husband uses this feature to listen to Headscape along with his Muse meditation.One more thing: you can choose to meditate your mind, or breath, or heart rate or body. You can only do one at a time. I use the mind meditation in the morning to clear my mind for a good work-day, and the breath meditation in the evening. The breath meditation measures how you sync your breathing with the beats they give you and it’s very calming. For the courses they offer, Muse measures the mind, heart rate and body (body, meaning if you are fidgety or still).If I had to complain I would say these two things: (1) I wish you could choose two or more meditations on which you want to focus. For example, I have heart problems and when I do the heart meditation, I can see the sudden dips in my heart rate that I've told my doctor about. I can do that with the heart rate meditation, but if I could do the mind and heart together, it would be better. I can also measure three features with the courses, but sometimes I don't want to hear talking. (2) Yes, you calibrate the device each time you put it on your head to meditate but it's only about 6-10 seconds long. I would like to have a 30-second lead time to ground myself, set my intention and prepare for meditation (habit from Headspace).

Headband connectivity is a nightmare. No matter what I do there's one area of the band that doesn't seem to want to register contact. It can take me 15 minutes or longer to get it to work properly. Consequently, trying to use this for sleep is counterproductive because by the time I've got it working I'm wide awake and completely agitated.Another complaint I have for sleep purposes is that the bright LED lights on the main module are situated directly above the eyes and blast bright light into them if the headband has been applied to the forehead before the sensor mode has engaged. It's important to put the headband on after the headband sensors start searching for skin contact or the bright light will be a problem for anyone not wishing to jolt their nervous system just as they're attempting to wind down for restful sleep.Although I haven't had this unit long enough to know for sure I am skeptical that the sensor pads will last. I've seen photos submitted by others in reviews and fully expect that after a few months the already finicky sensors might not work at all.Unless the unit I received is defective this device is not something I can recommend.