MyBrain’s white headgear uses sensors and music to calm you down

LAS VEGAS — At the CES Unveiled press event Sunday night we couldn’t help noticing the booth with the pleased-looking Frenchmen wearing the funny white headgear.

There was a reason they were wearing the headgear, and a reason they looked happy. These men were here representing Paris-based myBrain Technologies, which unveiled its new Melomind device and app at the event. They may also have been happy because they were getting a lot of attention from the throngs of media in attendance.

The white melomind headset uses several inside contact points to measure electrical activity in the brain. It then sends the data in real time to the mobile app, which plays music to match the user’s mental state.

The music is specifically composed by myBrain sound designers for relaxation, and, as myBrain co-founder Thibaud Dumas described it to me, the user can control the type of music being played by his progress toward relaxation during a session.

Here’s Dumas describing the product at CES Unveiled Sunday night:

“Learning how to relax is not more complicated than learning how to practice sport or music,” said Thibaud, who (like fellow co-founder Yohan Attal) holds a PhD in neuroscience. “This process is based on neuroplasticity, and what is important is to have the correct and efficient ‘feedback’,” he said.

Melomind was developed in close collaboration with the Paris Brain and Spine Institute, Dumas said.

The headgear may look slightly funny, but stress relief is serious business. In United States, 248 billion people are suffering from physical symptoms of stress. Stress is a risk factor for chronic diseases like hypertension, immune deficit disorder, sleep disorder, burnout, or depression, Dumas points out.

MyBrain’s product will soon be available in the United States and Europe in a selection of retail partners by the end of 2015. It will sell for $299.

MyBrain launched in 2013.