Muse just launched a fitness tracker for your brain, instead of your body

240914 Muse 7675 Large — Muse S Athena comes in two colours.

We have smartwatches and fitness trackers to train our bodies, but what are we doing to train our minds? Muse has a solution and it's the company's most futuristic smart headband to date.

Muse S Athena is a headband that pairs two different types of brain sensors together in one smart device. Electroencephalogram (EEG) sensors measure your brain's electrical activity. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology measures oxygen levels in the brain's frontal cortex.

The result: a wearable device that allows users to strengthen their powers of focus, cognitive endurance, and mental resilience.

The company also says this is something that could proactively address cognitive decline in aging adults.

240914 Muse 6659 Large — Through a companion app, users are guided through various exercises.

I've used two previous models of Muse. These devices were developed to enhance cognitive focus during meditation. Basically, you put the headband on, put in some earbuds, and listened to meditation exercises while sensors on the headband tracked your brain activity and heart rate.

It was actually pretty cool to hear the results of "proper meditation" (example: one exercise would use the sound of birds chirping or waves crashing to advise when you are drifting in or out of a target zone).

Athena Product 5 Large — A better look at the on-board sensors.

The headband also could provide insights into sleep, all of which is trackable and accessible through a companion app (and a paid subscription).

The new headband will be able to support meditation practices (both with eyes open or closed), sleep tracking, and now these new cognitive exercises to improve your brain's health.

240914 Muse 5650 Large — The app graphs advanced sleep metrics for each session and over time.

At launch, the primary exercise is an app-driven experience where users control the flight of an owl, simply by focusing their mind. As your efforts on the owl increase, the bird soars. If they diminish, the bird's flight is impacted.

Muse S Athena could be right for anyone looking to improve their focus on daily tasks at home or in the workplace. A great tool for people who want advanced sleep diagnostics with a higher level of accuracy than can be achieved with a wrist-based wearable. Or people concerned with cognitive decline as they age.