Neurofeedback at home--My experience with the FocusCalm brain training device

The benefits of meditation are a no-brainer

I’m Brandon Wilson. I am constantly working toward improving my mind, body, and spirit using various ancient techniques and cutting-edge biohacking tools and devices. I want to be healthy, but not at the expense of being happy. This simple idea is what it means to be wellthy.

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I started meditating the hard way. I tried to follow the so-called experts: sit quietly, focus on my breath, and try not to think about anything. It was beyond boring and made me more frustrated than calm. It felt like such a waste of time.

The problem is that there are myriad ways to meditate, and just like with diet or exercise, you have to find the method that works for you. But let me back up. Why meditate in the first place? Some of you may have never meditated, and you seem to be doing just fine without it, right? Here are a few of the many science-backed benefits of meditation.

Benefits of meditation

• Reduces stress¹

• Reduces anxiety with the most benefits for people with the highest anxiety²

• Reduced symptoms of depression³

• Improves sleep⁴

• Lowers blood pressure⁵

• Enhances self-awareness

• Improves attention span⁶

• Helps with chronic pain⁷

• Reduce age-related memory loss⁸

• Increase compassion for yourself and others⁹

• Helpful for addiction treatment¹⁰ and emotional eating¹¹

If you have a mindfulness meditation practice, perhaps you have experienced some of these benefits. If you are new to meditation, there are many easy and free ways to get started. This hilarious clip from The Office demonstrates some methods are more effective than others.

I’ve experimented with various guided meditation apps (see the Daily Habit) and multiple gadgets (see the Blast from the Past). My latest experiment is with a device called the FocusCalm that provides neurofeedback using guided meditations and games.