A newly-released headset hopes to wake people up or calm them down by manipulating the electricity in their brain.

Thync costs $299 and has just been released to the public. It provides “calm or energy on demand”, the company says, by using “neurosignalling” to activate nerves and change people’s state of mind.

The Thync looks like a small, white plastic triangle that is placed on the forehead. Its then fed with “Vibes” — specially-formulated zaps that either wake people up or calm them down.

The whole thing is controlled by phones. The zapping lasts an hour but the effects can go on for long after that, the company claims.

A number of different reviewers have tried the zapping, claiming that it really does wake up or put to sleep its users.