The MarchMindfulness series explores the intersection of meditation practice and technology. March doesn't have to be madness.
I was skeptical when a friend told me about the Sensate. It looked like a black plastic pebble, or a computer mouse for someone with small hands, that was supposed to sit in the middle of your chest. It sits and vibrates at various low frequencies while the Sensate app plays calming music. You have to pay $250 for the privilege.
Really? I like to use meditation gadgets that vibrate in order to help you practice different types of breathing, and the $169 Core meditation trainer was a favorite for this reason. The price of the Sensate seemed too steep and too New Age. My friend said that the device worked to calm her anxiety. The reviews on Amazon rave about its ability to induce sleep. It made sense, as anyone who has had a cat purring on their chest at night can attest.
I received a review unit. The Sensate 2 is a device made by a startup in London. Did nothing with it for a while. I was still rolling my eyes at the idea that this would work for me. I tried it and broke down. And tried again. For days. I was addicted to its calming, time-distorting effects.
I wanted to kick myself for not believing my friend and trying the device earlier, but I am too chill to administer the boot.
There is a fair amount of science behind what is happening here. I learned about the importance of vagus nerve stimulation when I took a course in neuroscience. The vagus nerve connects the brain to the gut through the chest. The more we study it, the more it seems to regulate bodily functions such as inflammation, metabolism, and how hungry you feel.
The most recent studies show that stimulating the vagus nerve increases the parasympathetic nervous system. Researchers call it the PNS response, which means "rest or digest", or "feed or breed", if you're interested. Heart Rate Variability is a key health metric. A number of negative health outcomes are linked to low HRV during daytime.
How do you get to the vagus nerve? gargling and chanting were used in the class to increase the vagal tone. There is a reason why the traditional Buddhist chant can feel relaxing, one small study showed its positive effects.
The vagus nerve can be treated with under-the-skin electrodes and a less intrusive one attached to the ear. In a recent 20-patient study, Vagus nerve stimulation reduced symptoms by 31%. Some users of the device with post-traumatic stress disorder have positive things to say about it, while others found it could cause anxiety if set too high.
Not to mention expensive, and who among us wants to chant or gargle for more than a few minutes? We are not sure how the videos work or whether they work for everyone. You could spend a lot of time at concerts or nightclubs standing next to the speakers and feeling the bass in your ribs, but your ears will not appreciate it. You could try to get your cat to sit on your chest, but cats. cat ownership is associated with reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease due to the soothing effect of purring.
There is an opening for consumer devices that produce the same effect. The Sensate vibrates in the range of 20 to 140 hertz. The studies of vibration therapy are in their infancy. 86 percent of patients in the in-clinic study of the Sensate improved their heart rate variability after a 20 minute session, but that hasn't been peer-reviewed yet. The company doesn't make treatment claims that need FDA approval. The FDA approved the GammaCore for use in patients with cluster headaches.
Does the Sensate improve HRV? My HRV as measured by my Apple Watch is higher than average, so it is hard to tell if the Sensate is having an effect. I have a Continuous Glucose Monitor that I am testing for a future review.
There is a link between high blood sugar levels and stress, one that became clear on my charts. Regular meditation, which I use the Apple Watch's app for, didn't have much effect. The sugar spike was brought down by 10 minutes of using the Sensate.
The categories of Sensate meditation music: Not as New Age-y as they look. Credit: Sensate
When our heart is thumping and our thoughts are racing, basic meditation just can't cut through. It can be hard to concentrate on our breathing at times. It can lead to afreeze similar to fight or flight for people suffering from trauma. The teacher in the class soothed our primitive brains and their hierarchy of needs before the real meditation work could even begin.
The Sensate seems to offer a way to get to that soothed state. The pebble vibrates and sits in your chest. I didn't know how powerful the vibration was in this spot, like my body had been designed to fit the Sensate rather than the other way around. My wife had a similar experience with the Sensate, and offered one piece of advice: Do not wear a push-up bra while using it, or your breasts might absorb the vibrations that are supposed to reach your bones.
The app is still bare-bones. I want the next update to connect with the Apple Health app so that I can keep a separate meditation timer. The Sensate app can connect to the Sensate device with ease if you press a button. The track of the music determines the length of the meditation, so you have to adjust the volume and level.
I was worried that the music would be too New Age for its own good. When I first started using the app, I found the pan-flute melody too syrupy for my liking. The music of the Sensate was chill and constrained.
We are just starting to study this in a scientific context, as Sensate's music employs binaural beats. In pre-surgery patients, binaural beats have been shown to reduce anxiety and improve long-term memory. I have used binaural beat apps before, at the request of friends who have no noticeable results.
The combination of the music and the on-chest vibrations seem to be out of sync with the music, just as the frequencies in each earphone are deliberately different. It was odd that the time flew by. The prospect of a 30-minute meditation fills me with dread. When I meditate for a long time, I have to check my watch to make sure the half-hour has passed.
It was easier to sleep afterwards because of the last thing you do at night. This is helped by the fact that I was lying down, which makes meditating in a prone position more comfortable.
I haven't yet fallen asleep during a Sensate meditation, even when my cat is next to my chest, adding his own soporific purring to the mix. The purring chest pebble is much stronger than his efforts, so it kept my brain focused. It put me into the half-awake state of hypnogogia beloved by dream hackers.
The Sensate benefits from having no major competitor in this space yet, and the price of $250 seems steep for what it is. Our lives are filled with so many vibrating high-tech objects that one of them can be made to help our vagus nerves. Maybe one of these high-tech vibrators will work on the chest as well as the nether regions. These things could be made use of in a special sternum-shaped case.
You are the best judge of what this level of potential calm is worth to you. If that helps, the company has a 40-day worry-free policy.
I would choose a Sensate over a subscription to either Calm or Headspace. I would pick it over the Core meditation trainer or the $250 Muse 2 because I still love the Muse's biofeedback from within your brain. The experience of the Sensate is something I want to experience more and more. Good vibes would be good for my anxiety.
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