Opera introduces Opera Air, a new web browser designed with mindfulness in mind. The application has a “minimalist Scandinavian design” and frosted glass accents that go well with the concept of mindfulness. For all its beauty, Opera Air has features for relaxation, concentration, rest, etc. that you usually only see in meditation apps.
There are four break modes: breathing, neck exercises, meditation, and “full body scan”. Breathing exercises and meditation will help you calm down by reducing your stress levels, while neck exercises will help you relax sore neck muscles. A full body scan is another type of meditation that involves focusing on different parts of the body and the sensations that arise. These breaks can be as short as three minutes or as long as 15. Breaks can be taken voluntarily or with a timer.
Opera Air also includes binaural beats as “amplifiers”. Binaural beats are an audio illusion created when two slightly different frequencies are delivered to each ear, causing the brain to “hear” a third frequency. Opera Air has several amplifiers that improve creativity, help you focus, and induce relaxation, among other things. Opera even claims to be able to help users recall dreams.
According to Opera’s Senior Director of Product, Mohamed Salah, the Internet is great, but the company wants to “look for science-based ways” to help users navigate the chaotic (and sometimes hostile) online content. While there are mindfulness apps like Headspace, Opera Air brings these features together in an app that many people use most often.
