A new wearable device, which is being called the world's first digital drug, can zap your brain to make you feel either calm or energised.
Users stick the device, called Thync, onto their front temple. A second connected pad goes in a spot farther back on the head, with its location varying depending on whether the calming or energising mode is being used.
Thync connects to the smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth. It can be controlled with an app, where the user can choose the length of their session.
Users can also adjust the strength of the brain-zapping. Each programme follows a pattern of greater and lesser intensity, with cycles of peaks and valleys, but users can also manually raise or lower the overall strength, 'Gizmag' reported.
The minimum time needed for the calming effect is five minutes.
There are three different energising modes as well, lasting either 5 or 10 minutes.
The product uses "low levels of pulsed electrical energy to signal specific neural pathways, allowing users to dial up or dial down their stress responses and energy levels."
Thync said the product, which costs USD 299, is perfectly safe.
It is being marketed as a lifestyle consumer product, not a medical one, so the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not regulating it.
But the device has been independently approved by the Underwriter's Laboratory (UL), a US-based safety organisation specialising in electrical devices.
