What's the right intensity for me?
When starting with a neurostimulation device like Mave, few common questions we hear are: Am I doing this right? Is the setting too high? Is it too low? Because the session involves an actual physical sensation, often a mild tingling or warmth, it is entirely natural to wonder what the "perfect" setting is.
If you're looking for the short answer:
- There is a widely accepted, scientifically sound intensity range (1 mA to 2 mA).
- You should aim for the highest intensity within that range that still feels comfortable.
- Ultimately, the right intensity for you today is dictated entirely by your personal comfort.
But if you’re the kind of person who wants to understand the mechanics and become an expert on your own neuro-routine, here is the science behind how the current actually works.
Effects of Intensity on Different People
Every person’s body is fundamentally different. The thickness of your skull, the natural conductivity of your skin, and your personal sensory thresholds all dictate how you will perceive the current. An intensity that is barely perceivable to one person might feel slightly prickly to another.
Because of this, the right intensity ultimately boils down to whatever you are most comfortable with. Your session should never be painful or highly distracting. If you find yourself gritting your teeth or unable to focus on a book because of the sensation, the intensity is too high. Your primary goal is to find a level that you can comfortably sustain for your full 20-minute session.
Why Higher is Generally Better
While comfort is your baseline, if you are debating between two comfortable settings, leaning towards the higher intensity is generally better.
To understand why, it helps to understand what is happening under the headset. When you start a Mave session on your head, the device creates an electrical field that travels through the brain's cortical layers.
When you increase the intensity, this electrical field becomes larger and more robust. This is highly beneficial for a very practical reason: it smooths out human error. We are not perfectly symmetrical, and you likely won't place the headset on your head in the exact same millimeter-perfect position every single day. A higher intensity creates a wider, stronger electrical field. This broader field ensures that even if your headset placement is slightly inconsistent from yesterday, the target networks in your Prefrontal Cortex are still fully encompassed and stimulated. The stronger field essentially cancels out minor physical inconsistencies in how you wear the headset.
Finding Your Sweet Spot
As you settle into your routine, we want to share how we went about approaching our intensity settings:
- Start gently: If you are new to tDCS, start at a lower intensity (1.2mA) to let your skin and sensory nerves adapt to the feeling.
- Scale up as you adapt: Over your first few sessions, you will likely notice that the tingling sensation fades into the background faster. As you get used to it, try bumping the intensity up.
- Don't force it: If a higher setting causes discomfort, simply dial it back. A consistent, lower-intensity session is vastly superior to a high-intensity one that makes you dread putting the headset on the next day.
Your brain is incredibly adaptable. Trust your physical comfort, don't be afraid to experiment with higher settings as you acclimate, and let the device do the rest!