#165: 🎙️ INTERVIEW | Training Your Brain with Neurofeedback Pioneer Ariel Garten on Focus, Sleep & Brain Optimization

Nina’s Notes Podcast

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#165: 🎙️ INTERVIEW | Training Your Brain with Neurofeedback Pioneer Ariel Garten on Focus, Sleep & Brain Optimization

Now Available on the Nina’s Notes Podcast

Nina Patrick

Jan 21, 2026

What if you could actually see your brain activity in real-time and learn to control it like adjusting a thermostat?

In this episode, Nina sits down with Ariel Garten, neuroscientist and founder of Muse, for a deep dive into how neurofeedback technology is revolutionizing the way we train our brains. From her early work making buildings light up with brainwaves at the 2010 Winter Olympics to creating a headband used by half a million people worldwide, Ariel reveals how accessible brain training has become.

This isn’t science fiction, it’s neuroscience made practical. Ariel explains how three to five minutes of daily brain training can improve focus, enhance sleep quality by 20%, and even help you fall asleep 55% faster. You’ll discover what your brain really looks like during sleep, why most of us aren’t getting “textbook” sleep, and how emerging technologies like deep sleep stimulation could change how we age.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Muse and Neuroscience

01:50 The Journey of Muse: From Concept to Reality

04:29 User Experience: Feedback and Interaction with Muse

06:54 Training the Brain: Techniques and Processes

09:44 Understanding Calmness: EEG Insights and Metacognition

12:12 Evolution of Use Cases: Meditation to Sleep Optimization

14:52 The Muse S: Enhancing Sleep Quality

17:35 The Complexity of Sleep: Insights from EEG Studies

22:10 Transforming Sleep Through Mindfulness

24:33 Understanding Calmness and Anxiety

26:06 Enhancing Focus and Productivity