Neuroscience meets tech in a new wearable headset that claims to speed up your metabolism and helps you lose weight by doing absolutely nothing but wearing it
Now and then technology really manages to boggle our brains with what it can do for the Healthista woman. The new wearable tech piece from health start up Modius is one example of this. The headset device, developed by neuroscientists at the University of California, San Diego apparently works by sending a signal to the part of the brain that controls fat storage, naturally shifting your metabolism to burn more fat. According to Modius, this can result in an increase of your lean muscle mass percentage in only four months.
The best part? You don’t do anything while you wear it. Modius advises that you sit or lie down whilst you have it strapped to your head. Hello? Health Holy Grail or what?
‘What is this witchcraft?’, we hear you ask. Well, according to the big brains behind the tech, Dr Jason McKeown and Dr Paul McGeoch the drug-free device uses a safe method of stimulation to activate the neurovestibular system and help you achieve a leaner body when used in conjunction with a healthy diet and appropriate levels of exercise. In a major shift from traditional techniques for shifting weight, the Modius headset works by altering levels of certain hormones in the brain that affect metabolism rates, appetite and fat storage, including leptin and ghrelin – we’re hoping it might be the perfect nudge for that stubborn weight around our middle.
The device is attached to your head and should be worn for 45 minutes a day, five days a week for a space of four months.
Hannah Heimer, a neuroscience student at the University of San Diego describes exactly how the product works in this 90 second YouTube video (below). A part of your brain called the hypothalamus controls something called a set point. This set point determines the way your body responds to the hormones that tell your body when it’s full. Apparently, Modius’s headset stimulates the hypothalamus which changes your set point and in turn stops you from getting hungry.
On top of this, it will supposedly activate a system in your body called the vestibular system (which controls balance and spatial awareness). When this system gets into gear, your brain registers it as an increase in physical activity and this triggers your body into burning more fat.
While it won’t take much physical exertion, it does take a bit of dedication. The device is attached to your head and should be worn for 45 minutes a day, five days a week for four months. Initial results taken from a clinical study involving 18 people suggests users using Modius are losing up to 16 per cent of their body fat, with around eight to 10 percent being about average. Non-clinical lifestyle studies have seen users lose up to 44 percent of their body fat. Plus, the biggest effect so far has been noticed on truncal body fat (that’s podge around the middle, muffin top or beer belly to you and me) – the hardest bit to shift. Two larger clinical studies of 60 people are currently underway.
According to Modius within one hour of use, there was a significant change in both appetite and metabolic hormones insulin & leptin in the study participants. There was also a significant increase in the proportion of energy derived from fat metabolism. Over a 16 week period, with an average of three hours use per week, the average reduction in central body fat was eight percent, with a range of two to 16 percent. These studies were carried out without changes in either diet or exercise.
Having secured almost one and a half million pounds from Invest Northern Ireland and TechStart Northern Ireland, Modius will be launching to the UK public via Indiegogo on August 8th, pre order your headsets for £190 here.
Standby for our user review in four months’ time.
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