Can a neurofeedback headband help you achieve clarity, focus — and greater performance in business? In the middle of heavy project work, I try out Muse 2.
Does Being Present Matter?
Think of a high performer in any business or creative undertaking. Your attention may be drawn to their energy, passion and sheer talent. Their “fire in the belly” might couple with sustained effort. A small flame becomes a roaring furnace — and success. But is success in this context a sprint or a marathon?
In my humble view, success in business or creative pursuits is a marathon. Don’t marathon runners pace themselves? In a business or creative role, self-care is an important part of pacing yourself. A regular self-care regime contributes to being calm and mindful.
High performers in business and leadership are in my experience calm and mindful (for the most part). Dr. Jen Frahm’s podcast illustrates five ways to introduce calm. Her first recommendation is to “ground” yourself. This grounding is a quick and practical way to achieve this sense of calm and mindfulness. Dr. Jen and I know about the magic of box breathing, a simple technique. It only takes 60 seconds; give it a try now.
It is often said that the one thing that makes the difference between success and failure is mental clarity. This means that we can define success as a state of mind where we are present in the moment and we know what we want.
Beyond clarity, mental flexibility is another benefit of mindfulness. This form of flexibility allows you to focus on the task at hand. Yet flexibility provides you with the creativity to solve problems. This same flexibility helps with quick thinking to work effectively with others.
What is Mental Flexibility?
Mental (or cognitive) flexibility is the ability to use a different cognitive strategy when faced with a problem.
It can be defined as the ability to shift between thinking about a problem in a novel way and finding a solution that may not have been found before. Yet mental flexibility is so much more. Have you considered what life is like when you are psychologically flexible? Take the idea of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is a branch of psychological therapy aiming to bolster people’s psychological flexibility. As you can see, psychological flexibility has a few parts to it:
“…the capacity to contact the present moment…
… while also being aware of thoughts and emotions without trying to change those private experiences…
… or be adversely controlled by them…
and depending upon the situation, persisting in or changing behavior in the pursuit of values and goals.”
D.J. Moran, author of Acceptance and Commitment Training in the Workplace
There are different ways for us to improve our cognitive flexibility. For example, we should challenge ourselves by taking on new tasks and learning unfamiliar skills. If we want to be more successful in solving problems, we need to develop the habit of trying out new strategies and methods.
Pumping stress, not iron: building the right “muscles” in my brain
If I wanted to build physical strength, I would hit the gym. Compound movements like deadlifts, squats and pull-ups build several major muscle groups. Plenty of rest and decent nutrition fuel strength over time. In time, I challenge myself with heavier weights and greater intensity. My efforts would pay off in a variety of demanding sports. I could push, pull and endure with greater confidence and prowess with my newfound strength.
So we know how to strengthen our bodies, but what about our minds? We can see that mindfulness practice may be one way to build our mental strength. But what are the equivalent of our major muscle groups when it comes to mindfulness practice?
The prefrontal cortex and the limbic system are two parts of our brain where regular meditation can make a difference. Both have been extensively studied for their role in controlling our thoughts and emotions.
The prefrontal cortex of our brain is one major area you bolster with regular mindfulness practice. The prefrontal cortex is our “executive centre”. It has a powerful influence on our moods and emotions. The prefrontal cortex helps organise thinking, problem-solving, planning, decision making, judgement as well as social behaviours such as empathy. Our “executive centre” self-regulates behaviour related to attention, impulsiveness, empathy, judgement and more.
One way to understand the executive function of the prefrontal cortex is to know what happens when we damage it. The story of Phineas Gage, an unfortunate and once-reliable railway worker is a powerful example of this. After a terrible workplace accident, Phineas transformed from a reliable and conscientious worker. He became impulsive and unreliable due to his prefrontal cortex damage.
The limbic system governs emotional responses such as anger and fear. Our limbic system helps us survive. Fear gets us to act fast. Anger is an anagram of range — sometimes our anger can spur us into positive action. Yet most of our business or creative endeavours may not need the full extent of these survival mechanisms. It’s not to say we shouldn’t feel fear or anger — all emotions are valid, and help tell us something. Yet how creative and flexible can we be when our overactive limbic system has us in a constant state of fear or fury? My thinking on this has nuance. Great achievements come from passion (and anger is a form of this). Yet do most of your achievements come from when you love what you do? What percentage of your achievements come from fear, or avoidance of fear?
Personally, I find that when I am under stress my thinking becomes rigid. Words like “should” or “must” enter my vocabulary way too much for my liking. Creativity goes out the window and is replaced by a need to defend my position on a given topic. Small things blow up into bigger things. It becomes harder to let these small things go. Yawn.
To counter this inflexibility, I found three things that work for me:
- Physical exercise. Hitting the gym before work is difficult yet rewarding. Back before lockdown, I could squeeze in one hour of Brazilian Jujitsu. While emerging from this feeling like I got hit by a truck, I would turn up to work feeling fresh and creative. And occasionally, still sweating. There’s a cool feature from exercise we gain, called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)… or “fertilizer for your brain”!
- Quality sleep. Yes, at least eight hours each night helps. Paired with exercise, a great night of sleep helps with a sense of perspective.
- Mindfulness practice. This isn’t only about zoning out or simply paying attention to your breath. Some forms of mindfulness advocate sitting with intense and uncomfortable emotions. I found using apps like Headspace and Calm as equally powerful in helping me form a regular practice.
I bear in mind that these three options are no silver bullet. When these options don’t work, I try to remember that people’s behaviour often falls on a bell curve. That, and hitting Connoisseur Cookies ’n’ Cream ice cream.
Like a FitBit for the brain: What is the Muse 2 and why did I buy one?
Muse 2 is a wearable, wireless headband that monitors your brain waves and posture to help you become more engaged. It’s worn on your forehead and records your brainwaves to measure how often you are distracted. Nope, I have no affiliation with Muse. I bought it purely because I was interested to see what it could do for me.
It’s like when I bought a Fitbit many years ago. The Fitbit itself didn’t make me exercise more, but I think it was the novelty of quantifying my exercise that got me out the door moving. This novelty lasted for quite some time. I figured the same would be the case with the Muse 2.
I like the idea that the Muse tracked four aspects of my mindfulness practice. Most importantly it tracked my brainwaves to see if I was agitated or calm in real-time. I love the idea of neurofeedback as this feedback could tell me where I was at any given time. Should I get distracted from my mindfulness practice this feedback could get me back into the game. My heart rate and movement were also tracked. Interestingly my breathing rate was also part of what the Muse 2 tracked as well.
The headband felt flimsy yet has stood up to months of regular use. I also downloaded their app and bought a subscription that has a range of different meditations. You have to ensure that the headband senses are touching skin and that the skin is not too dry so the sensor can pick up your vital statistics.
I tended to use my headband on the train going into work. I couldn’t care less what people thought as I put it on yet ultimately it probably looked like a pair of over the year headphones which I had placed on at a strange angle.
Instead of buying a bespoke carry case for my Muse 2, I used the box it arrived in. As the headband is fragile, the box kept it intact.
The app tracks how many consecutive days you have conducted your mindfulness practice. This tracking also includes the number of minutes you have spent in any of the variety of meditations available. Two particular meditations stood out for me. I started with meditation focusing on tracking and lowering my heart rate. Then I chose a meditation with a focus on real-time brainwave feedback.
I managed to meditate each day for 63 consecutive days. In those 60 days, I did find myself becoming a lot calmer and creative in my approach. In the lift one day at work one of my colleagues even mentioned how incredibly calm I was in the midst of a fairly complex project. This project had plenty of frustrations, and also some high expectations from many senior stakeholders.
In retrospect, this was a time of incredible productivity for me. I was finishing writing my book, including finalising the illustrations. At the same time, I was finishing university studies, while managing two projects at the same time. Yet I don’t recall feeling an undue strain in these 60 odd days. That isn’t to say that it was an easy time given the intense workloads. But I don’t recall any feeling of adrenaline coursing through my system, nor feeling worn down.
I did find distinct benefits from using Muse 2 to keep me accountable. Before buying them used to I did do my research on the reliability and validity of the statistics recorded by this headband. I had a particular interest in brainwave measurement, which is a form of electroencephalogram (EEG).
It was enjoyable to see that when I was “in the zone”, the app would give me immediate feedback. This feedback was in the form of birds chirping or other signals to know that I was on point.
My curiosity led me to contact someone who was completing their PhD in clinical psychology at the University of New England. They were completing their PhD in the applications of neuro feedback. In reading between the lines during my chat I got the sense that the Muse 2 may have reasonable validity. Yet the benefits of this form of neurofeedback may come mainly through placebo effect. Besides, I was happy to deceive myself and in doing so I reaped the benefits of a sense of greater calm and mental flexibility during this time.
After about 60 days I started to get out of practice and would find that my meditation would be forgotten until about 11:30 PM. So I eventually stopped, and need to get back on the mindfulness wagon again. Warmer weather is upon us and the COVID lockdown is pretty much over here in Sydney (for now). With this feeling of expanse and happiness, I now feel the need to exercise and engage in healthier activities.
It may be a part of my nature where when I have sustained a good habit something happens and I go back to old ways for a little while. The same as happened in getting fit, doing yoga or having called-pressed juice on a regular basis. Maybe there are two proverbial wolves inside of each of us — one wolf is a higher-thinking self. This wolf helps us with healthier habits and ways of being. The other wolf represents our impulsive, less-than-ideal self. Which wolf do we feed?
But back to the Muse 2. Would I recommend it to anyone? Absolutely. It is easy to use and is an effective and engaging way to start and sustain a mindfulness practice. The idea of neurofeedback is powerful, and I was fascinated to see when I was distracted.
Did it help me operate more effectively at work? I like to think so. My colleagues could see a calm and focused version of me. Even if this whole experience was a placebo effect, it allowed me to strive towards a better version of myself for at least 60 days.