I tested a $349 headband for power naps. He put me outside

There are few things that get my attention more than being asked to take a nap in the middle of my work day. I love naps, especially power naps. It’s the perfect break that gives me a boost to get on with my day. So when I received an invitation to try out a headband designed to help you sleep on demand, I was excited to give it a try.

The headband, from a company called Elemind, is stylish and comfortable. Priced at $349 (Plus an optional subscription fee to access your sleep data), they’re also really expensive. It has a lot of technology: electroencephalography (EEG) capabilities to read your brain waves, artificial intelligence that interprets and responds to that brain activity, and audio output to give you sleep-inducing sounds. The best way I can describe it is that it sounds like a low-pitched rhythmic hum that you can feel as well. It’s not intrusive or distracting; It feels like a light massage.

“It’s basically noise canceling out the brainwaves that keep you awake,” Meredith Perry, co-founder of Elimind, tells me.

I’ve worked in the sleep field for years and have tried all kinds of tools and products that claim to help you sleep better. Honestly, not many of them work out as they wanted. Naturally, I was eager to know whether Elimind headband It worked or if it will go to the list of products that you tested and failed. Here’s what I found.

Putting Illimund to the test

I arrived at The Crosby Street Hotel in New York to take my nap. Perry greeted me at the entrance to the room and took the time to explain the technique used in Elemind and to show me how to properly wear and operate the headband. She also showed me how the app works and what data I can access when wearing the headband. Then she left me to fall asleep.

I will briefly describe what happened next because – spoiler – I fell asleep. I remember lying down and hearing a low hum that sounded like bone conduction. I could hear the buzzing, but I could also feel it. At first, the pace was fast, but as I started to drift, I felt it became slower. The next thing I knew, I woke up to the sound of the room door opening. Berry had a big smile because she knew the headband was working based on my half-open eyes and the puzzled look on my face.

The nap was too short. We set the headband to 25 minutes. This was not my typical nap. Instead of deep sleep, I felt like I was in an alpha state – like a light sleep where I was still aware of my surroundings.

When I woke up, I felt exactly how I usually feel after a nap, which is a bit groggy. This feeling only lasted a few minutes, and I continued my day without any side effects or fatigue.

This is the first sleep tech device I’ve seen that targets and redirects brain waves in real time. Elemind’s research claims that 76% of people who wore a headband He fell asleep fasterThis was definitely the case for me.

What the data says

According to data from my naps, reviewed by neuroscientists at Elimind, alpha wave activity remained high during my naps, indicating that while I was resting and in light sleep, I was not entering deep sleep. . I suspected this would be the case for a 25 minute nap, and this is also consistent with my experience wearing the headband. (I was aware of my surroundings but in a light sleep, kind of like how you feel when you’re about to wake up in the morning).

The image above, which Elimind refers to as a chart, is a polar graph showing the headband’s performance while tracking alpha waves. On the left side, the plot shows the target onset phase and the distribution of all stimuli (gray bars). The right side is a similar plot but for the target stimulus compensation phase.

To put it more simply, “onset (is) the brainwave phase when each sound pulse begins and offset is the brainwave phase when each sound pulse ends,” said Ryan Neely, vice president of science and research at Elimind. All of this meant that the headband was working as intended (more pulses at first when brainwave activity was high, then less when the target brainwave activity (224°) was reached).

The data confirms what I felt during my nap – that I had a light nap. I definitely felt like I was resting and I also felt like I fell asleep very quickly (what felt like only a few minutes). I’d say it was a pretty solid nap, especially since it was only 25 minutes at 2pm, and I’m curious to see if it would induce a deeper sleep during the night when I’m in the comfort of my home.

How does Elimind work?

The headband is designed to help users sleep by targeting alpha wave activity with sound pulses. This is the key feature of the patented algorithm developed at MIT and built into every scope. The headband uses non-invasive neuromodulation technology to track your brain activity on an electroencephalogram (EEG) and deliver audio stimulation in sync with your brain’s natural rhythms, in real time, Perry explained. Every night you wear the headband, it learns more and evolves with you through its AI capabilities, becoming more effective over time.

The AI ​​behind the headband, which Elemind refers to as Sleep Tailor, learns your unique brain activity and sleep patterns to optimize your comfort. It collects your sleep data and analyzes it to generate stimulation patterns to compensate for your brain activity.

The headband can be worn throughout the night and is comfortable enough to wear in all sleeping positions. Users can use Elemind in any way that suits their needs. For example, you can wear the headband only to fall asleep and then take it off during the night, or you can choose to wear the headband only if you wake up and need help getting back to sleep. You can also use Elemind for daytime naps.

To experience all the features of Elemind, it is recommended to wear it overnight. You will be able to use it to help you sleep, with instant sleep grading, which will result in a comprehensive sleep report after the session, and get back to sleep faster if you wake up earlier than intended. Soon, Elemind will also have a deep sleep induction feature, which will amplify delta waves during slow wave sleep.

Is Elimind comfortable?

I found the Elemind headband to be comfortable. It is made of soft material and is adjustable in the back so you can make it as tight or loose as you prefer. It should be tight enough so it won’t fall out, but not so tight that it won’t be comfortable to sleep with. I mostly sleep on my back, so I didn’t have any problem with it sliding down. I lay on my side for a while and didn’t feel it moving or bunching up.

To get accurate readings, just make sure the sensors are in contact with your forehead. If you have long hair, Berry recommends wrapping it around your neck and under your hair, then gently moving it to your forehead and behind your ears.

Is Elimind worth it?

Whether or not the Elemind headband is worth $349 will depend on several factors.

You might like Elimind if:

• You travel a lot and suffer from jet lag
• You find it difficult to sleep
• She wakes up frequently during the night and struggles to fall back asleep

Elimind may not be right for you if:

• You find a subtle buzz on your forehead that is very distracting
• You have no problems falling asleep or staying asleep

Where can I buy the Elimind headband?

You can Pre-order Elemind on their website. According to Perry, the headbands that are part of the company’s beta program have already begun shipping, and those that were pre-ordered in December will ship starting in January.

In addition to the device’s $349 price, there’s an optional membership to access sleep tracking, scores, and metrics. Without a membership, you can still access the headband’s essential features of falling asleep and getting back to sleep faster. You get your first month free when you purchase the headband. You can choose to pay the subscription annually, which will cost you about $7 per month, or pay it in monthly installments of $13.