I am sharing this in case someone else finds it helpful.
I bought an M1 a few years ago, and have used it sporadically since. The reasons for not using it include that I was not certain it was doing anything to help despite what I read, and probably I was looking too much for instant gratification of feeling “better” immediately after using it, or feeling at least some kind of improvement. I have lots of places where this is applicable, particularly with hip pain. Having said that, I have no guide to learn what frequencies to use, where to place it, etc.
However, I also have ADHD. (Maybe that also has something to do with my ability to be diligent in the use of this machine…anyways).
I have a machine called muse, it is a consumer level eeg that the company sells and gives you neurobiofeedback in an attempt to help you to calm your mind while meditating. I got it around 6 years ago and have gone through periods of frequent use, and then not used it for periods of time, but the consistent thing about it was the inconsistency of my results and complete lack of progress when devoting consistent time and effort to it.
I have tried ADHD medication and it did not seem to help, either with my ability to focus nor my meditation results. There was a time that I felt that the machine must not be reading properly because I feel like I am calm but the results say the opposite. Other times I could have a great session but not really feel like I had done anything differently, and occasionally I would feel like I was calm and focused during my session and the results would show it. In the last year, Muse also released an updated software app that seemed to give me even worse results than before, like the algorithm for what “calm” was had changed somehow.
In the last few days, I read the post from TajD here about biohacking himself to be free from ADHD by putting the coils on his abdomen. I was sceptical but I will consider almost anything at this point. I use the Muse machine with another app called Optibrain that gives some kind of brain imaging of the different waves and activity in the brain, I just started using it a few days ago.
Today I took a break from the computer to go and meditate. I relaxed for a few minutes on my bed and then put the Muse headband on and did a 15 minute session. I had 24% calm, a bit worse but not as bad as I have had at times before. I then thought to myself, what would happen if I put the M1 coils on my abdomen and meditate? I also have a red light, so I thought I would shine it on my face/head at the same time.
I did it again for 15 minutes with the coils running the OMNI 8 program at 12 power and the red light on my face. This time…birds chirping constantly (the feedback has bird chirping noises when you are in a calm state). It was 67% calm! I believe that is the highest score I have had since they updated their software.
A sceptic might say that I had gotten calm from the first session and that is why I did better on the second one, but I can tell you that I have done two 15 minute sessions before back to back, many times, and that never happens. I have also seen that my calm score is higher right after waking up in the morning, and this was in the mid afternoon and usually at a time where the results aren’t great.
I did feel a little different in the second session compared to the first. It was subtle but noticeable to me. If I did not have this tool to measure it though, I would not have necessarily thought much of it. But if it can make that much difference to me immediately in a measurable way, I am excited that I think that I finally have a starting point to figure it out and that consistent use in this way over time will start to show significant results for me. Being on my abdomen, I think it may also help my hip, or maybe my brain behaving will help the rest of my body, including my hip.
I have attached screenshots of the meditation sessions as well as the images from a before and after brain scan. I can’t read too much into those as I don’t know much about brain activity, but I can say that the after PEMF image looks VERY different than the before.
I will continue to do it and test, but it also opens up a new set of questions for me. If it is the stimulation of the vagal nerve that is causing my mind to be calm, is it because it is just mitigating an issue that is already present? Is my microbiome in that poor of condition that it is the root of my ADHD? Or is it something that is damaged or injured and consistent PEMF will cause it to heal? I have thought that I eat quite healthily overall except that I don’t probably get enough vegetables frequently enough, but I am no longer looking at my head as a problem but my gut.
Note, I was going to upload 4 images but because I am a new user I can only upload one. I will try and add the other on follow up replies, or if I can’t, then a mod will have to give me access to do it.
