A colleague of mine shared a blog post today from a nationally known website in which the author was touting the amazing benefits of his company’s brain gadget. The article was mostly fluff, yet the author simultaneously was making huge claims about treating wide variety of mental disorders. It was frustrating and disheartening to me, because I knew the inventor/original distributor of this device, and I knew that person if still alive would be disheartened to read all that hyperbole for a device that is really quite good, yet not that unbelievably good.
It seems to me that there are an increasing number of similar advertisements created under the guise of information sharing rather than blatant advertising. How does one know which of these brain-entrainment devices are worth trying and which are pretty much useless?
To be honest, I’ve fallen for a few of these pitches, especially if my fellow neurofeedback practitioners start to sound excited, too. Here are a few of the warning signs that a brain gadget might not be worth your time:
No content. If you find yourself reading something that has lots of impressive-sounding language, yet you cannot quite put your finger on the point, that’s a warning sign that the inventors are trying to sell you something without proof that it does what it claims to do.
Overstating benefits. If you find yourself reading about benefits that are so amazing, they’re almost too good to be true, beware. They might just be untrue.
Authority posturing. If you find yourself leaning toward a brain gadget that claims to be FDA registered and yet it’s for sale to the general public, start wondering. Meditation and relaxation tools do not need to be registered; it’s done for marketing purposes to impress potential buyers. This is often done with neurofeedback equipment to make it seem more professional, but really, the end result is often simply a more expensive product that does the same thing that more reasonably priced units provide.
Too cheap to be true. Tinkering with the brain requires know-how, and even if the gadget itself is simple and not that expensive to make, the intellect and time behind the creation have value and ought to be reflected in price. Cutting-edge brain-entrainment devices certainly are less expensive than ever before, but there comes a point when a device is simply a toy that thinkers rather than a powerful tool that shifts.
It’s kind of a jungle out there these days. Entrepreneurs are trying to find ways around the time and effort that people put in to neurofeedback training, either at home or with a professional. So far, there really are no hacks that achieve that goal. I use brain gadgets to loan to clients for use in between actual brain-training sessions, but there are no short-cuts; these devices are helpful but no replacement for EEG or HEG neurofeedback.