Halo Neuroscience has released their new Halo Sport 2. You can go to the link and read up on yourself if you want (this post is about my experience with it), but the short description of what this device does is that it electrically stimulates certain areas of the brain to speed up physical training. In addition to writing (and my regular day job), I’m a competitive dancer. Something that would help me learn my routines faster is always welcome.
I’ve heard of this technology before in the past, and have always been fascinated by it, especially the reports that Russia used a much lower-tech version of it by sticking needles in people heads and stimulating the brain that way. But one that simply sits on the head and stimulates it via electrical impulses to the scalp seemed to be a much safer alternative.
So why am I interested in hacking my brain. There are some moves in my dance routines that I simply have a problem with, and there are some bad habits I’ve picked up over the years that are hard to break. The Halo Neuroscience claims their devices will fix those problems.
So, I bought one.
The first time I used it was June 20 before a Cha Cha class. We usually do drills in the beginning, so I figured this would be a good time to give it try. The Halo Sport 2 requires that you do good repetitions of the moves you want to learn. I neuroprimed in the parking lot and then went up to class. I didn’t mentally feel any different, but I did notice that my legs were more relaxed than normal. This is something that I’ve noticed after each priming session from here on out.
One hour and twenty minutes into the class, my feet started hurting; this normally happens about twenty minutes in, as I have arthritis in both feet (the dancing keeps it under control, but that doesn’t mean they still don’t hurt). That was a welcome improvement and one I wasn’t expecting. I’m not sure why that was…perhaps I was walking correctly for the first time in a while.
The second time I used it was a week later for the same class. I found I had finer control over my drills this time. And again, my feet didn’t hurt until near the end of class. My instructor came up to me later and said, “Tom, you worked hard tonight. You were really focused.” It could have been coincidence or even some kind of psychosomatic effect, but maybe not.
I used it again the next night for my private lesson. I have eight dance routines, and they all have a little something that needs work. We only got through three of the routines before my Halo Sport hour was up (read up on how to use the device for more information). I didn’t notice any pain in my feet either. I did feel more focused for the first hour or so, then I was cracking jokes as normal. When I noticed the latter, I looked at the clock. I was one hour and seventy minutes into the lesson.
It seems this gadget is doing something, perhaps even what it is advertised to do. I’ll let you know as my progress continues.
Tom Bont's Silver Key 