Visualizing My Brainwaves

With live brainwave visualization, you can explore your brain activity (the raw electrical signal detected by the Muse sensors) or the 5 brainwave powerbands in real time. 
 

Starting a Live Brainwave Visualization
Live Brainwave Powerbands
Live Brain Activity
Live Visualization Duration
Frequently Asked Questions

 

Starting a Live Brainwave Visualization

To start a live brainwave visualization:

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

2. Tap the Train tab, then scroll down and tap Programs.

3. From the list of programs, tap Visualize Your Brainwaves.

4. Tap the experience from either Live Brainwave Powerbands or Live Brain Activity to download or start the session.
   
    

Live Brainwave Powerbands

As you start your live brainwave visualization, Muse will detect your brainwaves and begin charting them from left to right.

The signal is sensitive since Muse also picks up the electrical signal from movements and blinking. Try keeping movements to a minimum so you can better observe changes in your live brainwave powerbands.

During a Live Brainwave Powerband visualization, you'll see:

• Your heart rate (Muse 2 and Muse S only).

• The powerband chart visualizing the changes in your brainwaves.

• Symbols corresponding to each powerband. From left to right, these are: δ Delta, θ Theta, α Alpha, β Beta and γ Gamma.

• The measurement of your powerbands amplitude in decibels (dB). Each powerband is detected at a certain frequency band, and by measuring the rise and fall of the amplitude over time, we’re able to chart your brainwave powerbands.
   

The brainwave powerbands are always active, but are also commonly associated with different states of consciousness, cognitive processes, and mental activities.

• Delta δ (0.5-4 Hz): Deeply asleep

• Theta θ (4-8 Hz): Sleep, deep relaxation, and visualization

• Alpha α (8-13 Hz): Relaxed and calm

• Beta β (13-32 Hz): Actively thinking or problem-solving

• Gamma γ (32-100 Hz): Hyper brain activity, great for learning
   

Live visualization of brainwave powerbands can offer real-time insights into your cognitive and emotional state, possibly guiding you to make choices in your life toward better mental health or performance. However, interpretation should be done cautiously. Individuals vary greatly, and context plays a significant role in understanding brainwave patterns.

The live visualization of your brainwaves is meant to give you access to explore your data in a new way. Consulting with a qualified professional can help in interpreting and utilizing this information effectively.

To learn more about receiving post-session powerband data on your session with Muse, read our article on Brainwave Powerbands. 

 

Live Brain Activity

As you start your live brain activity visualization, Muse will detect your brainwaves and chart your brain activity from left to right.

During a Live Brain Activity visualization, you'll see your:

• Heart rate (Muse 2 and Muse S only).

• Brain activity measured by the Muse algorithm.

The visualization of your live brain activity is the electrical signal detected by the Muse sensors.

The focus here is on observing and noticing changes in your brain activity. You might notice the signal is quite sensitive! That’s because muscle and eye movement produce a much stronger electrical signal than our brainwaves, causing signal noise.

Explore how your brain responds to various actions, such as blinking. Experiment to uncover insights for yourself!

 

Live Visualization Duration

The maximum duration of a visualization session will depend on your Muse device.

Muse model	Muse S Athena*	Muse S (Gen 2/1)	Muse 2
Charge duration	3 hours	10 hours	Up to 5 hours

*Muse S Athena: uses fNIRS sensors that consume more power than previous EEG-only Muse models. Sessions under the Train tab will consume the battery charge faster.

For Muse battery troubleshooting, check out this article for a step by step guide.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can The Muse Support Team Help Interpret My Brainwaves?
Does The Muse Headband Filter or Process Brainwave Data?
What Can Affect the Brainwave Powerbands?
Can I Export My Data From The Muse App?
How Can I Conduct Academic Research With Muse?

 

Can The Muse Support Team Help Interpret My Brainwaves?

While we're always happy to help troubleshoot technical issues with your device and app, we’re not able to interpret or analyze your brainwave data. Muse is designed as a personal meditation and neurofeedback tool, and the brainwave data it collects is for your own exploration and self-reflection.

If you’re curious to dig deeper into your brainwave patterns, we have a few great starting points in our Brainwave Powerbands FAQ article.

 

Does The Muse Headband Filter or Process Brainwave Data?

No, the Muse headband detects your brainwaves and transmits the raw EEG signal to the Muse app, where it’s processed.

The Muse app uses advanced algorithms to analyze this data and generate the post-session metrics and insights, like your calm score and heart rate trends, that you see after your sessions. These are processed outputs, designed to help you understand and improve your practice over time. They reflect years of research and development by the Muse team.

However, if you're looking for unprocessed brainwave data, there are two places in the app where you can view it directly:

• Live Brainwave Visualization

• Brainwave Powerbands graph after a session
   

These features show your raw EEG activity across key frequency bands (Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, Gamma) without interpretation or filtering by Muse's algorithms.

 

What Can Affect the Brainwave Powerbands?

Since the Brainwave Powerbands graph reflects your unfiltered EEG data, it can be influenced by a range of non-brainwave factors, especially signal noise. This is normal in raw EEG recordings and doesn’t necessarily indicate an issue with your Muse device.

Some common sources of interference include:

Motion Artifacts - Movements like blinking, jaw clenching, or shifting your head will introduce signal noise that impacts the accuracy of lower frequency bands (delta and theta) most significantly. This makes it harder to distinguish genuine brainwave activity from movement-related electrical signals.

Electrode Drift & Skin Potential Fluctuations - Slow changes in the electrical signal can also result from sweating, changes in skin contact, or sensor movement.

Other Potential Factors

• Poor sensor contact (e.g., dry skin or improper fit).

• Electrical interference from nearby devices.

• Muscle tension, especially in the face or neck.
  
   

Can I Export My Data From The Muse App?

At this time, you cannot export data directly from the Muse app.

For individuals and citizen scientists looking to visualize, stream, or export brainwave data from their Muse device, we recommend checking out Mind Monitor, a popular third-party app designed for this purpose.

 

How Can I Conduct Academic Research With Muse?

If you would like to conduct academic research with Muse, please contact researchpartners@choosemuse.com