A high-level comparison of some of the technologies - Nuclam, NueroOptimal, Muse, and others.
In October 2017, I had the opportunity to experiment with brain enhancing technology at the Bulletproof® Conference.
medium.com
The challenge is always in the unknown effects of these technologies. I prefer to go with what C's said.
All these technologies involve bio-feedback, which is different, and complementary to, Brainwave Entrainment.
Biofeedback measures your current state. The simplest approaches use skin resistance, while the most sophisticated use EEG. They provide feedback to the user who can learn, with much practice, how to alter their mental state.
(The onus here is for the user to try different things until they stumble on an internal approach that allows them to change (and hold) their desired brain state. There is no help other than to let you know when you are doing something right.)
Even the simplest of these technologies can be very effective, and I used this technology in my early teens - under supervision of a neurologist - in an attempt to use a primitive form of Meditation to reduce the frequency/severity of migraines.
I describe the Meditation as primitive because they called it "relaxation" and did not offer any tools/techniques/processes beyond the biofeedback to achieve mental stillness. That said, I did learn over a number of months to quickly and effectively drop into, and hold, what I now know to be a deep Theta state.
Unfortunately, despite being enjoyable, the "relaxation" did not have any measurable effect on my migraines, and when the neurologist concluded that the same, I had to return the biofeedback device.
However, my knowledge of electronics allowed me to make my own device - which I used for a number of years.
Years later I learned about Meditation. In Meditation, there is generally no "feedback", but instead a prescribed set of processes/activities that, when practiced, in conjunction with learning a form of Mental Discipline, can "still" the mind and allow it to reach a particular mental state.
Meditation can be entirely passive, or entirely active, or a combination of both: Even something as simple as walking can be a form of Active Meditation that, if done right, can induce profound Alpha states...
Yoga, Tai Chi, and EE are all forms of Meditation. As is sitting still and visualizing mandalas...
The key with all forms of Meditation is that to be maximally effective, the user has to learn to catch the mind when it starts to wander, and then gently coral it back to the task of Meditation...
THIS is the discipline and practice that matters! It can take months of dedicated practice to develop!
Once you have mastered this skill, the actual form of the Meditation that is used is less important - other than the fact that the more active the form of Meditation, the higher the typical final brainwave state that is reached, and the more still the Meditation, the slower the typical frequency of the final brainwave state that is reached.
Now, Brainwave Entrainment can, if used properly, directly entrain/induce a particular brain state within a two to seven minutes - without the need for any real practice/discipline.
When used to wake you up, it can create an effect similar to an espresso shot. Used properly, it lasts for up to an hour, and has no known side-effects.
When used to induce Alpha states, it can very quickly create a "Flow State", and if used in conjunction with a regular training/practice regimen, or if used while studying, it can have real benefits - again with no known side effects.
When used to induce Theta states, a user can experience all the physiological benefits of the Theta states (the triggered release of hormones, dispersal of anxiety, and elimination of stress) without actually having to Meditate - though it works best if you are sitting comfortably and quietly - say, watching ducks at a duck pond...
Induced Delta frequencies can even be used to combat insomnia and induce sleep!
All this without the need for any drugs!
Now Brainwave Entrainment is not universally effective - in some people it has very little effect, while others can be very susceptible!
In many ways it is like hypnosis - both in terms of its effects and the underlying mechanisms it uses.
Indeed, configured correctly, a Brainewave Entrainment session CAN BE a form of non-verbal hypnotic induction!
With all this said, the best results of Brainwave Entrainment come when used in conjunction with either/both the Biofeedback technologies and/or Meditative Discipline!
The three together involve a synergy that is quite profound. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find a safe/stable/reliable/portable/cheap EEG device that I can link to my own app - otherwise complete feedback and control of the entrainment signal would be in the next release...
In the absence of a fully closed loop system, the most effective combination that generates real, long-term, positive results from Brainwave Entrainment happens when it is combined with a disciplined practice of Meditation!
Once someone has learned to still the mind (and catch/contain it when it escapes), using Entrainment can
significally accelerate the speed at which a desired target state can be achieved, and also directly specify
what that target state is in terms of the exact brainwave frequencies.
Someone who has achieved the Meditative Discipline and is comfortable with the use of Entrainment can quickly drop into a profound Theta - or even Delta - state in less than a minute, and stay there for extended periods.
But there is no substitute for practice here!
It can take even a dedicated and disciplined practitioner months to achieve the necessary discipline and control - but months is still a lot better than the years it can take otherwise...