A web browser that relieves stress? Sounds crazy. Then I tried Opera Air

Climate change, rising inflation, the possible demise of American democracy — it’s a lot to handle. Opera may have the right product at the right time: Opera Air, a free web browser that was actively designed to help de-stress and calm you as you navigate the web.

With strong competition from other free Windows browser makers, Opera has tried everything from early integration of useful features like VPNs to slightly more dubious “gaming browsers” like Opera GX. Think of Opera Air as somewhere in the middle, with a sedate UI bolstered by features like calming binaural beats and even stretching exercises that can use your laptop’s camera to help ensure you’re performing them correctly.

Essentially, the new Opera Air browser is the standard Opera browser, which ships with its no-log VPN capabilities, ad and tracker blockers, and a sidebar with various apps and “workspaces” of collected tabs. The UI, however, uses a “frosted glass” appearance to give the browser an aura of calm, according to the company.

Furthermore, Opera Air is based upon new features that help you through an ongoing journey of sorts: Beginning your day with an inspirational quote, then providing “Boosts” of calming or stimulating music as you browse the web. Every so often, Opera will encourage you to take a break, and can help focus your mind through stretching or meditative exercises.

Opera’s Boosts are designed around what are known as binaural beats, a method of either stimulating or calming your brain. The theory behind binaural beats is that broadcasting tones of different frequencies in each ear prompts the brain to “fill in the differences” between the two, creating its own frequency or beat. The brain’s neurons then synchronize to the new beat, with a variety of different effects. (The effects of binaural beats aren’t well studied, and a WebMD article notes that effects can vary, depending on the user, from positive feelings to a trigger for depression.)

Opera’s Boosts can be tuned from theta waves (associated with meditation) to alpha waves (stress-free work) to beta waves (active concentration) to gamma waves (peak mental performance), with timers that can be set for brief periods to a length of infinite duration. Each Boost can also be mixed with other sounds, like lo-fi tracks and piano, or nature sounds like rainfall, forest noises, or ocean waves. All told, there are 19 different Boosts available.

Opera Air can be set for users to “take a break” every 45 to 180 minutes, with a reminder to stand up and move or simply pause work.

Alternatively, Opera Air offers a choice of relaxation activities (led by real actors, Opera says, and not AI). They include standard breathing exercises, a deeper meditation, and even a “full body scan” that can help you relax the various parts of your body.

A fourth activity, neck exercises, can be synced with your laptop camera to ensure that you’re performing them correctly. This is optional, Opera said. If you turn it on, the information will only be processed locally, the company said.

Opera

Hands-on with Opera Air

Opera offered me a build of the Opera Air browser to try out in advance of its launch.

On the surface, Opera Air isn’t that different from an ordinary browser. By default, Opera offers to import your bookmarks and other data from another browser, and a brief setup process allows you to pick a theme. When opened, Opera Air puts the customary arrangement of tabs and bookmarks at the top of the page, as well as a hokey inspirational saying — “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf”– at the bottom of the screen.

Opera

The real innovations, however, are in the new Boosts, as well as the ability to take a guided break.

There’s an old saying: “No whistling in the newsroom.” For some people, simply hearing music — especially if it’s attached to a known song — distracts the brain by causing it to fixate on the song itself. I usually fall into that camp. Each Boost is essentially a pre-configured mix of a predetermined list of ambient music samples, the binaural beat, as well as some ambient nature sounds. (If there was a way to change the background noise of ocean waves to birdcalls, or from soft low-fi music to Brahms, I couldn’t find it.)

Surprisingly, though, it worked. Boosts require headphones or earbuds, and I did have to play around a bit to get the overall volume, and the mix between the various sounds, so that they would fade into the background. But I was surprised to find that I wasn’t distracted, and I began to bang out this article in a mode that I would describe as focused.

I was mildly impressed by the stretching exercises that Opera’s “Take a break” mode offered. Let’s face it: Giving yourself the grace and freedom to actually pause from working for a moment or two is a blessing in itself. The instructors themselves are not particularly impressive, simply leading you through a series of stretching exercises. Turning on my camera (and trying to “break” the instruction) didn’t work, either. I’m also not sure if I was supposed to hold a stretch for a minute or two, or if the process simply glitched.

Mark Hachman / IDG

I could never be truly sure if some placebo effect was at work, or just being told to essentially pause work, relax, and stretch out cramped muscles was something I could do on my own. But yes, I did feel that setting Opera Air’s Boost to “Peak Concentration” helped me knock out this report, lickety-split.

What does Opera Air need? More configuration options, maybe. I also wouldn’t mind seeing a “startup” and “wind-down” option that would kick in to help users begin and end their workday. But otherwise, I was moderately impressed.

So, yes, I’d say that Opera Air deserves a quick, free download. Setup really takes just a few seconds, and you’re free to keep on using the browser. But let’s face it: The next few years could be among the most stressful of our lifetimes. Could Opera Air alleviate that? Boy, do I hope so.