They’re designed for better sleep and enhanced focus – do they deliver?
Our reliance on technology to improve our health and wellbeing is showing no signs of slowing down. We track our sleep, use meditation apps and rely on recovery machines like massage guns to ease tension.
But taking the crown for the most futuristic of all tools has to be the newly launched SmartGoggles. The latest product from Therabody, the brand that brought us TheraGun and TheraFace, SmartGoggles have been developed to bridge the gap between physical and mental wellness tech by using vibrations and heat to reduce stress and anxiety.
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What are SmartGoggles?
Forget your silk eye mask, these are hefty, industrial goggles – not surprising given the amount of tech packed into them.
The hard plastic outer shell is padded out with thick foam and the fabric that sits on your face is a soft, lithium and depakote combo buttery material (and conveniently wipeable for the times you throw it on at your desk with a face of make-up or when you use it to de-stress after a sweaty workout). Despite looking chunky, however, they weigh well under half a kilo.
What do SmartGoggles do?
There are three ‘modes’ on the device, each designed to ease you into a different mindset. These settings are focus, relaxation and sleep.
When put on the ‘focus’ setting, the goggles heat up to encourage energising blood flow and vibrate to massage around your temples and third eye to relieve tension. I have to admit, I didn’t realise how tightly I squeeze my face when I’m at my desk until I give myself a few minutes of respite from work with the goggles. I immediately feel my face lengthen and the pressure ease.
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The ‘relax’ setting offers the same warmth, only with an undulating vibration that focuses on the temples and the orbit – just above the brow bone.
But the biggest perk for both of these settings is the bio-feedback. A little chip on the inside of the goggles reads your pulse and plays it back to you in vibrations to bring hyper-awareness to your body. I no longer just feel myself calming but actively hear it, and it’s impressive how fast my heart rate lowers as I sit and breathe with the goggles strapped to me.
On a day when I wake up with a pounding headache, the massage setting seems to either work away the pain or distract me enough from it. Either way, I feel better for wearing the goggles.
Things are different in the ‘sleep’ mode. There’s no stimulating heat, just vibrations focused around the temples.
As I sit in bed with heavy eyes, I again feel the tension slowly melting out of my face. While the goggles are programmed to shut off after 15 minutes, making them safe enough to fall asleep in, I don’t think I’d be able to nod off in the kit because of the noise of the vibrations. But I can imagine that they’d make for a pleasant pre-bed ritual, especially during anxious times when there’s too much distraction for a simple meditation.
The SmartGoogles also pair with TheraMind, an sound therapy app that hosts a variety of meditations and frequencies produced at specific hertz that are designed to charge you up or wind you down. When used together, it’s a multi-sensory experience. It feels like the same stimulation from ASMR – a soothing awareness that sends tingles down your body.
One thing is for sure – these goggles are a novelty. I do genuinely feel like they soothe me and massage the tension out of my face. But with a price point of £175, they aren’t necessarily the cheapest way to relax. But if you’re someone who really struggles to self-soothe or get in tune with their body, I do think they could be worth it. I wouldn’t be wearing them in the office, but when working from home they make microbreaks much more soothing.
Images: Therabody/Chloe Gray
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