Cereset is a noninvasive brain wellness technology that reads your brainwave activity in real time and plays back corresponding audio tones, with the goal of helping your brain “reset” itself into a more balanced state. It evolved from an earlier technology called HIRREM (High-resolution, Relational, Resonance-based Electroencephalic Mirroring), which has been studied at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Unlike traditional neurofeedback, Cereset requires no active effort or training on your part. You sit in a chair, sensors are placed on your scalp, and the system does the rest.
How the Technology Works
Cereset uses what’s called a closed-loop brainwave echoing approach. Small sensors on your scalp pick up your brain’s electrical activity, and software translates that activity into auditory tones played through earbuds in real time. The idea is that when your brain “hears” its own patterns reflected back as sound, it can recognize imbalances and begin to self-correct. Wake Forest researchers describe this as an “inside-out process,” meaning the brain self-adjusts rather than being pushed toward a target pattern by a clinician or machine.
The system is designed to improve balance between the left and right hemispheres, reduce the intensity of overactive brainwave frequencies, and calm states of hyperarousal. Importantly, Cereset does not try to move your brain toward predefined “normal” patterns based on population averages. Each session responds to your brain’s unique electrical signature in that moment, making the process individualized by design.
How Cereset Differs From Neurofeedback
Traditional neurofeedback is an active training process. You typically watch a screen or play a simple game, and you’re rewarded (with visual or audio cues) when your brainwaves shift in the desired direction. Over many sessions, you learn to consciously influence your own brain patterns. It requires focus, repetition, and a practitioner who sets target brainwave goals.
Cereset takes a passive approach. You don’t need to concentrate, respond to prompts, or do anything at all during a session. The system reads and echoes your brainwaves automatically, and the brain’s response happens without deliberate effort. Proponents frame this as a key advantage: the brain relaxes and reorganizes on its own timeline, without being steered toward externally defined benchmarks.
What a Session Looks Like
A standard Cereset wellness package includes five sessions, typically spread over several consecutive days. During each session, you recline in a comfortable chair in a quiet room. A technician places small sensors on specific points on your scalp using a mild adhesive paste. You close your eyes, and the system begins translating your brainwave activity into soft tones played through earbuds. Most people simply relax or fall asleep during the process.
Sessions also include what the company calls “personalized brain coaching,” which involves reviewing your brainwave data and discussing patterns with a trained Cereset technician. The experience is calm and low-effort. There are no electrical currents, no magnetic pulses, and no medications involved.
What the Research Shows
The clinical evidence base for Cereset is still developing. Most of the published research comes from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where the underlying HIRREM technology has been studied in over 600 participants across multiple trials. These studies have explored its effects on sleep, stress-related symptoms, and autonomic nervous system function.
The research so far has not identified any serious adverse events linked to the technology. However, large-scale randomized controlled trials with long follow-up periods are limited, and the technology has not received FDA clearance for treating any specific medical condition. It is marketed as a wellness tool rather than a medical treatment. People considering Cereset should understand that the evidence, while encouraging enough to justify continued study, does not yet meet the bar that would be expected for a proven clinical therapy.
Possible Side Effects
Cereset is generally well tolerated. Clinical trial consent documents from Wake Forest note that some participants have experienced temporary effects including changes in sleep patterns (sometimes a brief worsening before improvement), vivid dreams, heightened emotional awareness, mild headache, a feeling of fullness in the head, and fatigue. One participant reported minor skin irritation from the adhesive paste used to attach sensors.
All reported side effects were non-serious and short-lived, typically resolving within hours to one or two days. In rare cases, effects lasted up to a week. Across the roughly 600 participants studied at Wake Forest, researchers reported no serious adverse events.
Cost and Availability
Cereset operates through independently owned client centers across the United States. The standard wellness package, which includes five sessions and personalized brain coaching, runs between $1,500 and $2,000 depending on location. Prices can vary by center. Cereset is not typically covered by health insurance, since it is classified as a wellness service rather than a medical treatment.
Because each center sets its own pricing and scheduling, you’ll need to contact a local center directly for exact costs. The company’s website includes a center locator tool. Some centers offer individual sessions or different package options beyond the standard five-session series.