It all comes to the brain

Our brain

Our brain can easily be described as the organ inside the head that controls thought, memory, feelings, and activity. Scientists have been recording brain activity for decades now and have been trying to understand how the brain can act like this incredible command center.

As mentioned before, the question here is how does the brain control our bodies? The answer is quite a complex one and you can find out more about it here, but long story short the brain is part of the nervous system which is responsible for controlling and regulating bodily functions and activity.

The nervous system is made up of nerve cells called neurons. Neurons receive and transmit electrical impulses. These electrical impulses are like messages between the brain — which gives instructions, and the rest of the body — which acts as instructed and gives feedback. These messages are the main point of interest when it comes to understanding the brain.

Technology has developed ways of decoding the messages that neurons transmit and even stepped a little further. Scientists created what are the so-called BMIs— brain-machine interfaces, or BCIs — brain-computer interfaces. BMIs are a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device.

They are definitely not a new interest topic in the scientific community as there has been researching on BMIs since the 1970s, but what is new is the technology that has been developed in the last couple of years.

Alright, so scientists have made some discoveries and now more new technology is being developed. What does this mean for the average person?

The impressive part about these new technologies we are about to cover in this article is that we are not talking about lab technology, we are talking about wearable, every day, easy to use at-home devices that can be easily paired up with your phone or your computer and help you increase the quality of your health and life.

We all have dreams about our future and how we want it to be. We want to become certain people and have certain careers, but we don’t always know how to get there.

One thing we know for sure is that we need knowledge. Knowledge will path your way up to wherever you want to go. The beauty of the times we live in is that we have access to all the knowledge we can handle and even more.

As one problem is solved, another one comes to light. How can we absorb all the knowledge that we need? That one key ingredient is the focus. With all the information available, distractions have increased in number, but our attention span decreased along with them. Here’s where BMIs can come into play and help with our focus issue.

BrainCo

A company named BrainCo came up with a solution. Their technology measures and analyzes one’s focus and helps them improve it. Their device is called Focus1 Headband and is said to be a light, easy-to-use, and comfortable device that evaluates the electrical activity in the brain.

One of their many applications for this device is called FocusFit and it is a brain fitness training system for athletes in order to improve their performance, as well as to help them recover faster. 

Besides their own applications for the device, they have partnered with many other companies to broaden the reach of their technology in as many domains as possible. Some of these domains are education, mental health, memory training, and even race driving.

Meditation

Our mental health is essential when it comes to the successful career and balanced life we all aim to have. Because sometimes we need a little time for ourselves in order to give our day maximum devotion, people have found a lot of different ways to escape the everyday rush.

One particularly popular escape is meditation. Many people appreciate the outcomes of meditation and want or have tried practicing it. As easy as it may seem, meditation can be a challenging task. BMIs found a way to help us in this domain too.

Muse is a company that developed a device that can help improve one’s journey through meditation. Their devices connect via Bluetooth to your phone; all you need is to download their mobile app and you are ready to go. The devices passively sense one’s brain activity and translate it into sounds that help you focus on your meditation.

They have two available device models, Muse S and Muse 2, both of them having the purpose of helping you build a consistent meditation practice. Their app provides progress tracking data after each session and users can have access to meditation courses.

Another very important aspect when it comes to a balanced life is knowing how to help your body help you. Yes, it is very important to eat healthily and do daily physical activities, but these are things that you have total control of. What about the things you cannot control and that are also crucial in accomplishing your goals?

Sleep is one of them. As mundane as it may seem, an activity as simple as sleep is what charges our batteries for the next day. If not charged right, no device won’t be able to function at full capacity. BMIs have a solution to this struggle too.

A company called Dreem has developed a device named Dreem 2, which is also an easy-to-use headband, but this time designed for sleep monitoring. The device measures your brain activity, heart rate, respiratory frequency, movement, and it also comes with some audio features. Dreem 2 can easily be paired with your smartphone through the Dreem app.

The great thing about all these new devices that bring the latest technology into our own homes and can easily blend into our daily routine is that they offer not just general advice on how to improve our health and life, but they give us particularised solutions and insights based on our bodies. All these technologies are proof of another step forward in our evolution.

If you think these technologies are 'cool', just wait as the future is even brighter.

Brain-to-brain conversations are no longer an untouchable dream. Scientists are developing brain networks so we won’t have to use the phrase 'If only you could see what I see anymore. 

Another incredible future use for BMIs is the usage of the data acquired from monitoring brain signals. We could replicate and replace body parts and be able to use them as if they were always there, without any differences in feeling or control. We could become superhumans. We could use our brains to instantly connect to any device in our proximity. Imagine making a long-awaited cup of coffee just by thinking about it, and this is just a mundane example of the benefits that mind-controlling devices could have.

The best part about this future is that we no longer have to worry about technology controlling us because we are the brains behind everything. Quite literally.

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