Skip to main content

Melomind relaxes your body by playing music determined by your brain

melomind relaxes your body by playing music determined brain solution picture
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Petrified by the thought of flying, or anxious in crowded places? French-based startup myBrain Technologies previewed a possible solution at the Consumer Electronics Show last year: Melomind, a brainwave-reading pair of headphones that plays soothing ambient sounds. Months later and nary a peep since last year’s showing, myBrain’s back at CES with a radically redesigned Melomind headset and retooled app that “gamifies” relaxation.

The headset’s called Melomind, and the premise behind it is simple: biofeedback in the form of an electroencephalogram (EEG), a well-established method of monitoring electrical signals within the brain using electrodes. But unlike the curvy, alien-looking prototype Melomind unveiled at CES last year, the new model could almost pass as a pair of oversized headphones. It trades the uncomfortable plastic earpieces of last year’s model for more conventional over-the-ear speakers and relegates the EEG electrodes to two prongs that protrude from the headset’s top.

The headset redesign is primarily the reason Melomind missed its previously planned September ship date, myBrain co-founder Thibaud Dumas told me. Another was the complete reimagining of the companion smartphone app.

The new app was designed with user feedback in mind, said Dumas. The core interface has been improved, and the team’s added a voiceover that explains every step of relaxation sessions. But most dramatic is the addition of a virtual points system that earns you rewards for achieving higher “levels of relaxation.”

“Brain training’s proactive, like a sport or music: the more sessions you do, the better you get,” said myBrain co-founder Dr. Yohan Attal. “It’s important that people use it regularly. So the reward feedback was a way to combine science with a fun experience.”

MyBrain didn’t have a working version of the new headset to demonstrate but ran me through a simulation with off-the-shelf headphones. It begins with what Attal calls an “audio journey,” or ambient noises intermingled to produce a calming mix. Every audio journey begins with a calibration period that measures your baseline brainwave scores and then progresses to a dynamic sequence of music and sound effects determined in real time by Melomind readings. For instance, I heard footsteps in a forest and a choral soundtrack, things that Attal said might not play if my stress levels were lower or higher. “Everyone’s experience is different,” he said. “The changes are computed in real time.”

The Melomind app presents you with a page of results (after every session – “relaxation parameters”, in Melomind’s terms), and assigns a point value based on the level of relaxation that you were able to achieve. Accumulate higher point values and you’ll unlock challenges — longer sessions, for example, or sessions with higher point thresholds. And if there’s a session during which you performed particularly well, you can pull it up — all are recorded for posterity.

The new Melomind’s still very much a work in progress, but Dumas said the company’s shooting for a launch sometime this year, with pre-order and pricing details to come in late January. “It’s an evolution of interaction in terms of neurofeedback and experience for the user,” he said.

Editors' Recommendations

Kyle Wiggers
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
The best Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 screen protectors
Person holding skateboard while wearing the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.

A new, sleek design and digital bezel help the Galaxy Watch 4 stand out in the crowd and set it apart from the traditional style of the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. Whether you've picked up a 40mm model with a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED screen or opted for more screen real estate with the 44mm model, that stand-out design needs protecting from scratches and knocks. That means it's time for our picks of the best Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 screen protectors, with something to suit all budgets.

These screen protectors will all fit the 40mm or 44mm models of the Galaxy Watch 4. If you've got a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, these won't fit.
Spigen Glas.tR EZ Fit Screen Protector

Read more
How to remove watch links from the strap on your new watch
how to remove watch links fossil q explorist

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all smartwatch. If your wrists are on the smaller size, then you may find that your new smartwatch is dangling from your wrist and sliding up your forearm. No need to worry — it's a common problem. Chances are there are at least one too many chain links on the strap, but adjusting a metal-link smartwatch band isn't as difficult as you might think — and doesn't usually require a trip to the jewelers.

We'll take you through everything you need to know and the tools you'll need handy to remove links from your smartwatch so it fits snugly on your wrist.

Read more
Best Cyber Monday Deals 2022: Laptops, TVs, AirPods, and more
Best Cyber Monday Deals 2022

Cyber Week is here! With some truly epic deals out there, this is the best time of year to buy a new tech gadget. If you slept through the Black Friday sales, then the Cyber Monday sales, you better grab what you need during this week of slowly diminishing deals. From tablets to air fryers, laptops to smartwatches, we've rounded up the best Cyber Monday deals across a range of categories, and you'll find them all below.
Cyber Monday sales: Quick links

Amazon: Huge discounts on laptops, Echo devices, and tablets
Best Buy: Your destination for sales on super-sized TVs
Dell: Unbeatable discounts on gaming laptops, monitors, and more
Gamestop: Cheap video games, console accessories and monitors
HP: Gaming PCs, laptops, monitors, and printers from $129
Kohl's: Home decor, clothing and kitchen appliance steals
Lowe’s: Up to 60% off appliances like refrigerators and decor
Staples: Save big on laptops, home office hardware and supplies
Target: Tons of cheap kitchen appliances and stocking-fillers
Walmart: Great for laptops, and is restocking PS5 and Xbox Series X

Read more