In life, our mind and body need to be in its state of peak performance to enable us to do miracles that 1% of humans can/could. And that would mean, they both – body and mind – have to be in sync, generally AND during times when we need to focus. When the body is tired, and the mind wants to focus, it’s not going to work, and vice versa. I am constantly in search of ways to biohack peak performance in both the mind and body and today’s objective is to increase my focus at work.
Neurostimulation seems to be a mouthful for some people but I’ve tried several gadgets for it, bent on harnessing my brainpower. I’ve wondered how much more I could attain if I could redirect my brain’s alpha waves into something more constructive. Thus, in this current test with the NeoRhythm headband, I have prepared my mind to discover more.
My expectations are:
- Sleep better without using supplements.
- Resolve stresses which come with work.
- Manage my thought processes overload.
- Improve my capacity to focus and retain interest.
To be honest, #4 should be #1 on the list.
I have tried clinical-grade RTMS with large magnets before, and I did not find any major results other than getting me on a habit of waking up early so I could drive and go to where it was available and use it before anyone else came in.
So when I found NeoRhythm I was not sure if this one works due to its quiet mechanism, with relatively smaller magnets than those I have tried, and most importantly the position placements. The RTMS (clinical-grade) goes tick-tick in terms of sound. A bottle (glass) was provided to test and I concluded it was working as I could hear the magnets. That came with the package and that was a smart move on NeoRhythm’s side as it reassures.
The packaging was smart with this testing tool, multiple sponges to fit it to head, and a very nice charging dock station. I love the docking station, now this sits on my table like an alien machine, very royal, and reminds me to use it.
The app is very nice, good to use, connects well with the device. The Bluetooth connection is flawless – while most devices in the market, even fitness watches have bad connectivity during their early days. The device rest of the time works with just a tap with its memory and so it’s wonderful. In the mornings, when I am in airplane mode, I cannot get my Bluetooth on and this device works and fits in my lifestyle perfectly.
The gadget did not fit my head as my head’s shaved. For a snug fit, I used the sponges which came with the pack. It’s not heavy and was almost unnoticeable as I do my routine tasks set for the day. If you are sensitive, you may feel that it could fall off, but it won’t really. But the front did not touch my head fully, maybe due to my pointed head?!? [smiles]
So initially in the first week, I had no results to document, but that’s normal as the manual said that it could take a few days to start to show results. Now it has been 2 weeks and I think it’s a good time to document the results. I follow multiple biohacks and so it can be complicated to track it, but I have been documenting the results of everything for years. NeoRhythm comes with many positions and usages – sleep, focus, relaxation, meditation, etc. I have only used the focus part, as that’s my primary objective with this experiment.
They recommend it to be used 30 mins for each session, and 3 sessions a day. My need for focus is just few hours a day, packed together, so I tried what they proposed, but I moved on to 1-2 x 60 mins sessions back to back. For 1 x 60 min session, I did find about a 10%-30% increase in focus, which is a very good boost. But for 2 x 60 min sessions, the results were more like 5-15%, but also came with a slight headache or pain around eyes. But again, I did not use it as they recommended. Within their recommendation levels, there was zero ill effect whatsoever. I am a biohacker and an experimenter, what can we complain about?
I will continue to monitor and update the progress over a period of time as I find interesting progress. If you find no updates to this, then it’s safe to say the results mentioned above sustained as it is.
So the conclusion:
Pros:
- Great app
- Great Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth functionality
- Great packaging
- Sufficient accessories
- Decent fit
- Need not be precise on position when placing on the head (as per NeoRhythm)
- Sturdy
- Lightweight
- Great charging docking station
- Good light indicators for charging/functioning
- Good testing glass tube (creative)
- Working with recorded data without the mobile app is easiest
Cons:
- Takes time to see the result and could be hard to measure at home
But again, my results and yours may not be the same. So why don’t you try and decide for yourself? NeoRhythm may be a company that produces this, but technology is a very old, well-studied model. Well, relatively well studied. The science community has not given many resources to mental performance and wellness to date and most research has been from private groups. Nevertheless, RTMS is a standard model in medicine now used for serious brain-related situations. A smaller version of it should work just as much and thanks to NeoRhythm we do not need to spend 50-100k USD to get a massive RTMS or spend as much as NeoRhythm costs for a month of clinical therapy with RTMS.
I say give it for a spin and decide from your own results if it helps your life or not. Life is short, and what good does it do if we cannot live it fully, at it’s best?
So, if you are interested in NeoRhythm, take a look at their website for more information.