What the research actually says

Including the parts that do not support this. One of the four mechanisms below is routinely cited in this field and routinely misunderstood, and it is worth knowing which.

Does any of this actually work

This combines several things that have been studied separately. Relaxation before mental work, and vivid rehearsal of a scene, both have solid support. Binaural beats have moderate but uneven support. Repeating affirmations, on its own, is the least established part, and the research usually cited for it is about something different. None of that makes the practice worthless. It does mean the honest claim is that this assembles mechanisms with reasonable evidence behind them, not that the combination as a whole has been demonstrated.

Progressive relaxation before anything else

Well supported

Systematically relaxing the body one region at a time reliably improves sleep quality and lowers anxiety. This is the best supported thing the app does.

Effect: Pooled across 31 randomised trials and 2,277 people: sleep quality SMD −1.74, anxiety SMD −1.11. Both large.
Caveat: Heterogeneity between trials is very high (I² above 90 percent), which means the true effect varies a lot by population and protocol. Most trials also used clinical groups rather than healthy adults.
Source: Systematic review and meta-analysis of progressive muscle relaxation, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2026.

Rehearsing a scene in vivid detail

Well supported

Mentally rehearsing an action improves real performance of it, measurably and repeatedly, across forty years of replication. This is the mechanism behind describing your life as already true rather than merely wanting it.

Effect: Mental practice versus no practice: Δ = 0.48 (Feltz and Landers, 1983), d = 0.527 under tighter controls (Driskell, Copper and Moran, 1994), d = 0.43 for imagery interventions in sport.
Caveat: Nearly all of this literature studies motor skills with measurable outcomes, like free throws and surgical technique. Extending it to identity, income or relationships is a reasonable extrapolation, not a demonstrated one.
Source: Feltz & Landers 1983; Driskell, Copper & Moran 1994; meta-analysis of imagery interventions in sport, 2020.

Binaural beats

Mixed evidence

Two slightly different tones, one per ear, shift measured anxiety and some cognitive performance. The effect is real on average but inconsistent between studies.

Effect: Medium overall: g = 0.45 across 35 effect sizes. Theta-range beats specifically: pain SMD −0.53, with improvements in episodic memory.
Caveat: Certainty of evidence has been rated low for several outcomes, and results depend heavily on which frequency, how long, and when. Longer exposure performs better, which is one reason sessions here are not short.
Source: García-Argibay, Santed & Reales, Psychological Research, 2019; systematic review of theta binaural beats, 2026.

Repeating affirmations

Commonly misattributed

The academic literature on self-affirmation is frequently cited in support of affirmation practice, and it is about something else. Steele's self-affirmation theory concerns briefly reflecting on a core personal value to reduce defensiveness under threat. It does not test repeating aspirational statements about a future self.

Effect: Genuine effects exist for the value-reflection intervention, particularly on defensiveness and academic outcomes in threatened groups.
Caveat: Do not cite this body of work as proof that affirmations work. It is a different intervention with a different mechanism, and conflating the two is the single most common overclaim in this field.
Source: Cohen & Sherman, The Psychology of Change, Annual Review of Psychology, 2014.

Locus is not a medical device and does not treat any condition. Nothing here is a claim that it will work for you. If you want to know whether it does, the check-ins are how you find out.