Have you been searching for a good meditation headband, or perhaps something to help you understand your focus, relaxation and sleep?
The Muse S Athena and Muse 2 are two of the best-known EEG headbands for home neurofeedback and meditation.
Compare both headbands for meditation, neurofeedback, focus and sleep. See features, differences and which Muse is right for you.
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Muse Meditation Headbands
The day to day stress of modern life can make it difficult to switch off. Finding time to meditate is one thing, but knowing whether you are actually relaxing or simply sitting with your thoughts can be another matter.
Muse headbands use EEG and other sensors to provide feedback while you meditate, relax or train your attention. The Muse 2 is aimed at people who want straightforward brainwave feedback for focus and relaxation, while the newer Muse S Athena adds more advanced brain and sleep tracking.
Brain Sensing and Relaxation
The main attraction of a Muse headband is the feedback. Instead of relying entirely on how relaxed you think you are, the Muse system monitors brain activity and turns changes in your mental state into real-time feedback through the app.
This can make meditation more engaging, particularly if you find it difficult to know whether you are making progress. The feedback can show when your mind becomes more active and encourage you to return your attention to the session.
Through the Muse app, you can review your sessions and see how your brain activity changed over time. This gives meditation a measurable element and can help you establish a more consistent practice.
The Muse 2 is particularly suited to daytime meditation, focus and relaxation. The Muse S Athena goes further, combining EEG with fNIRS technology to measure additional information relating to mental effort, while also offering advanced sleep features.
For anyone interested in home neurofeedback, the difference between these two models is important. Muse 2 is the simpler choice, while Athena is designed as a broader brain fitness and sleep system.
Here’s what you can use these headbands for:
- Enhanced Meditation: Muse provides real-time EEG feedback during meditation, helping you recognise changes in brain activity and return your attention when your mind wanders.
- Focus Training: Both Muse 2 and Muse S Athena can be used to train attention and concentration through brainwave feedback.
- Stress and Relaxation: The system can help you see changes in your brain activity, heart rate and breathing as you move between more active and calmer states.
- Sleep Tracking: Muse S Athena adds advanced EEG-based sleep tracking and sleep-focused features, making it the better choice if overnight monitoring is important.
- Mental Endurance: Athena adds fNIRS-based training designed to measure mental effort and help users work on cognitive endurance.
Muse Headband Reviews
Muse has developed a strong following among people interested in meditation, neurofeedback and personal brain training. One of the biggest advantages is that the technology gives users something to work with during a meditation session rather than simply asking them to sit quietly and hope for the best.
The Muse app works with compatible Android and Apple devices, allowing you to view feedback and review your sessions.
As with any wearable, comfort and consistency matter. Some users find the headbands easy to wear for extended sessions, while others may need time to get used to having sensors positioned around the head and ears.
| User Feedback Aspect | Positive Feedback | Negative Feedback |
|---|---|---|
| Comfort | Lightweight design makes the headbands suitable for regular meditation sessions | Some users may find wearing a sensor headband takes some getting used to |
| Functionality | Real-time neurofeedback makes meditation and focus training more interactive | Some features depend on the Muse app and available subscription options |
| Effectiveness | Useful for people who want measurable feedback during meditation and brain training | Results depend on regular use and individual response to meditation and neurofeedback |
Muse S Athena vs Muse 2
The Muse S Athena and Muse 2 share the same basic idea: use brain sensing and biofeedback to make meditation and brain training more measurable. However, Athena is the more advanced device and is designed for people who want additional information about focus, mental effort and sleep.
Muse 2 is the more straightforward option. It focuses on EEG brain tracking, meditation, focus and relaxation, making it a good choice if you mainly want a headband for daytime neurofeedback.
Muse S Athena adds fNIRS sensing, which measures changes in blood oxygenation in the frontal cortex. It also adds more advanced sleep tracking and sleep support, making it considerably more versatile if you want to use the device both during the day and overnight.
| Feature | Muse S Athena | Muse 2 |
|---|---|---|
| EEG Brain Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| fNIRS Mental Effort Tracking | Yes | No |
| Focus Training | Yes | Yes |
| Meditation & Relaxation | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Breath Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Sleep Tracking | Yes | No |
| Overnight Use | Yes | Primarily designed for daytime use |
| Battery Life | Up to 10 hours | Up to 10 hours |
Muse S Athena
- Muse S Athena combines EEG brainwave tracking with fNIRS sensing, providing additional information about mental effort and changes in blood oxygenation in the frontal cortex.
- The headband is designed for both daytime brain training and overnight use, making it the better option if sleep tracking is an important part of your routine.
- Athena includes advanced sleep features including EEG-based sleep staging, Sleep Assist, Deep Sleep Boost and Smart Wakeup.
- The device can also monitor heart rate and breathing, adding more physiological information alongside the EEG data.
- For people interested in longer-term brain training, Athena provides additional metrics and training options that go beyond basic meditation feedback.
Muse 2 Headband
Muse 2 remains an attractive option if you are primarily interested in meditation, relaxation and focus training without needing the additional sleep and mental endurance features of Athena.
The headband uses EEG brain sensing to provide real-time feedback during meditation. It also uses additional sensors to track information such as heart rate, breathing and body movement, helping create a broader picture of your session.
| Feature | Muse S Athena | Muse 2 |
|---|---|---|
| EEG | Yes | Yes |
| fNIRS | Yes | No |
| Heart Rate | Yes | Yes |
| Breathing | Yes | Yes |
| Focus Training | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep Tracking | Advanced EEG sleep tracking | No |
| Overnight Training | Yes | No |
| Battery Life | Up to 10 hours | Up to 10 hours |
Both headbands use EEG technology to monitor brain activity during meditation and training. Muse 2 keeps things relatively simple, while Athena adds fNIRS technology and more advanced analysis for people who want to explore cognitive performance and sleep as well as meditation.
Availability of Muse Headbands in the UK
Muse headbands are available to UK buyers through online retailers and the official Muse store. The two models worth considering are now quite different in terms of their intended use.
Muse 2 makes sense if your main priority is meditation, relaxation and focus training. It provides EEG neurofeedback without the additional technology and sleep features found in Athena.
Muse S Athena is the more comprehensive choice. Alongside EEG meditation and focus training, it adds fNIRS mental endurance training, advanced sleep tracking and additional physiological measurements.
If you are buying your first Muse and only want a meditation and focus headband, Muse 2 is worth considering. If you want one device that can cover meditation, focus, mental endurance and sleep, Muse S Athena is the more capable option.