Brain Recharge and Alpha Power

Complete any Strength, Mind, Heart, Body, Breath, and guided biofeedback experiences to receive your Brain Recharge and Alpha Power data in your post-session results. It's compatible with all Muse headbands with a Muse premium subscription.

The Brain Recharge score reflects how well your brain enters a restorative state, particularly through alpha power (a measure of the strength of brain activity in the alpha band). This score indicates your brain’s ability to recover from cognitive load, stress, and fatigue, providing insight into mental rejuvenation and relaxation.

Regular monitoring with Muse biofeedback sessions can help you identify trends in your Brain Recharge over time, allowing you to make proactive lifestyle choices focused on your brain health.

Read on to learn about our Brain Recharge feature and Alpha Power!
 

Getting started with Brain Recharge and Alpha Power
How is my Brain Recharge score measured with Muse?
What are the Brain Recharge scores?
How can I see my Brain Recharge score in the Muse app?
Why don't I see a Brain Recharge score in the Muse app?
Why do I have No Reading?
Why does Brain Recharge require a Premium Subscription?
What if I cancel my subscription?

For information on understanding Brain Recharge data or integrating Brain Recharge into your routine, see our articles on Understanding My Brain Recharge Score and Improving Your Muse Meditation Scores.

 

Getting started with Brain Recharge and Alpha Power

To view your Brain Recharge score and Alpha Power:

1. Download the latest version of the Muse app.

2. Activate a premium subscription on your Muse account.

3. Complete 10 Muse* biofeedback sessions where Alpha Power is detected to calibrate your baseline.

4. Track your cognitive performance trends in the Health tab.
    

When your baseline is calibrated, you'll receive a new Brain Recharge score with each biofeedback session where Alpha Power is detected.

You can complete any Mind, Heart, Body, Breath, and guided biofeedback experience with Muse to receive your Brain Recharge score and Alpha Power data in your post-session results.

*💡Brain Recharge is compatible with all Muse headbands.

 

How is my Brain Recharge score measured with Muse?

Alpha waves are a type of brain wave occurring between 8 and 12 Hz (the alpha band). They’re the most prominent oscillations in the human brain, and it's the frequency that most cortical regions in the brain work with.

Your Brain Recharge score is based on your alpha waves during your session. It’s the strength of your Alpha Power, measured in dBx, which are decibels (dB) multiplied by 10 (x). Alpha Power denotes the amplitude or strength of the alpha waves. The stronger the alpha waves, the more your brain is in a recovered state.

To measure your Alpha Power, the Muse algorithm identifies the amplitude of your strongest alpha waves generated during your session.

To determine your Brain Recharge score, Muse calibrates your baseline Alpha Power over 10 sessions. Your latest session is then compared against this baseline, with each new session incorporating the latest readings. Your session’s score is always measured against the latest 10 sessions. 

This way, your Brain Recharge score remains accurate and personalized to your unique data and is relevant to you.

 

What are the Brain Recharge scores?

We categorize Brain Recharge scores along a range with four potential colourizations, with each colour indicating a different level of how you're performing at the moment compared to your baseline.

• Optimal (blue): Indicates that your Brain Recharge is exceptional, showing above your typical resilience and recovery capacity.

• Great (cyan): Your level of recovery is above your average, showing a strong rested state. A good day to tackle a complex task or have a creative session.

• Good (green): Reflects a solid performance where your brain is in its typical rested state.

• Fair (yellow): Suggests that your Brain Recharge is below its potential on this day. A good time to focus on resting and recovery.
   

When using Muse with friends or family and comparing scores, remember that your score is always compared solely against your own data. Since everyone’s brain and physiology are different, your friend’s Brain Recharge score is measured relative to their unique baseline, just as your score is based on your own individual data.
 

Other readings

Calibrating: Complete at least 10 biofeedback sessions with Muse to calibrate your Alpha Power baseline. As you progress through 10 sessions, you’ll receive the reading: calibrating, as well as details on the number of sessions needed before you see the Brain Recharge results.

No Reading: Indicates Muse was unable to detect your Alpha Power reading. The “Why do I have No Reading?” section provides further information on why you may have not received a reading.

 

How can I see my Brain Recharge score in the Muse app?

Note that you must complete 10 biofeedback sessions to establish your initial Alpha Power baseline before you'll see your Brain Recharge score.

To view your Brain Recharge trends:

1. Open the Muse app and sign in to your account.

2. Tap the Health tab on the bottom menu bar.

3. Tap Brain Recharge.
    

Your average Alpha Power is calculated based on the data points visible on your graph. Swipe left and right to see the average change overtime. Your all time average Alpha Power is shown below the trend graph.

To view your Brain Recharge score, along with the other results from an individual session:

1. Go to the Me tab, then scroll down and tap Session History. 

2. Tap any biofeedback session to view your score for that session.

To expand or minimize the Brain Recharge graph in your session data, tap the ^ arrow icon in the top right corner.
 

💡 Remember to add a journal entry when you complete a biofeedback session with Muse to capture the context of the session. Viewing the data is one thing, but understanding the context of when the data was determined is key.

• Was the day particularly stressful?

• Were you lacking sleep?

• Have you made recent lifestyle changes?
   

By making small, positive changes, you can work towards optimizing your Brain Recovery and overall well-being.

 

Why don't I see a Brain Recharge score in the Muse app?

There may be a few reasons why you don’t see a Brain Recharge score:

• You’re on an older version of the Muse app. See the article on Downloading and Updating the Muse App for links to update to the latest version. 

• Your account doesn’t have a Muse Premium subscription. The Brain Recharge score is only available to premium subscribers. Make sure you’re signed into your account which has your subscription, or purchase a premium subscription from our website. 

• You need to complete more sessions to calibrate your baseline. Complete at least 10 biofeedback sessions with Muse to calibrate your Brain Recharge score. As you progress through the 10 sessions, you’ll receive the reading: calibrating, as well as details on the number of sessions needed before you see the Brain Recharge results.

• You received a No Reading score because Muse was unable to detect your Alpha Power.
  
   

Why do I have No Reading?

Our brains are constantly generating alpha waves, however, they’re most powerful when our eyes are closed and our brain is in an idling or resting state. 

Alpha waves decrease when we are actively looking at or listening to something. This decrease in Alpha Power is called “Event-Related Desynchronization” (ERD). Additionally, when biofeedback sessions are short, there’s naturally more muscle and body or eye movement as we settle into our meditated state. That movement causes signal noise, which makes the reading more difficult. 

It's also important to note that you won't always have an Alpha Power reading as a natural occurrence. In circumstances where you have the No Reading score, it could be that the strongest frequency during that session wasn't Alpha. As an example, if you’re feeling drowsy, your theta can peak.

Here are a few tips to improve your Alpha Power detection:
 

Complete sessions of 10 minutes or longer.

This gives your eyes and body a good chance to relax, reducing signal noise, and your brain has a chance to enter into a rested state.
 

Reduce signal noise.

• Keep your eyes gently closed throughout the session.

• Keep physical movements to a minimum. If you naturally tend to fidget, extend your session length to enable better Alpha Power detection.
   

Ensure good signal quality.

• Use a damp cloth to apply water to the forehead and ear sensors. A small amount of water can significantly improve the initial sensor quality.

• Make sure the ear sensors touch the tops of your ears, like eyeglasses.

• Make sure there's no hair between the sensors and your skin, especially behind the ears.

• Avoid skin products or make-up while using Muse. They can form a barrier that interferes with the sensors.

• Note: Check your Mind graph at the end of the session, large gaps in the session data would indicate poor signal quality.
   

Practice focused attention. A busy mind makes Alpha Powers harder to detect.

• Focus on your breath as it moves in and out. When your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your breathing. This simple exercise helps train your brain to focus and redirect attention when distractions arise.

• Eliminate Distractions: Create a quiet and clutter-free environment when practicing focus. Turn off notifications, close unnecessary tabs, and silence your phone to minimize interruptions.

• Regular meditation trains your brain to sustain attention. Practices like focusing on a mantra, an object, or a body scan improve your ability to concentrate over time.
  
   

Why does Brain Recharge require a premium subscription?

At Muse, we’re constantly developing our models to provide you with better, more accurate data, as well as new metrics like Brain Recharge and Cognitive Performance. The premium subscription contributes to funding research and development.

Our goal is to provide you with the best tools to empower you in your brain health and well being. By including advanced features within our premium subscription, we can continue to support, sustain, and improve not only our newest innovations, but the entire Muse experience.

 

What if I cancel my subscription?

If you cancel but do not delete your account, all of your Muse biofeedback data will remain securely saved under our privacy policy. Once you reactivate your Muse subscription, your Brain Recharge data will immediately be accessible again in the Muse App. 

Even without a subscription, you will still be able to access your other data with Muse, including Brainwave Powerbands, Mind, Heart, Body, Breath, and sleep data.