Donna Booth looks on the bright side

Alison tests out the latest in stress-relieving technology…

LIKE everyone else, the early stages of lockdown meant that I was pretty much confined to my home and garden for twenty three hours a day. We’re fortunate in that we live in a village where people help each other out and have some good country walks at hand. We’re lucky enough to have a large garden as well as co-owning the only field that lies between the garden and the sea. I’m also pretty laid back and I’m not one of life’s worriers, so my stress levels are generally low to non-existent. I sleep like a corpse. That said, even I’ve felt a bit stressed, not so much by the pandemic as by the unfolding divisions that it has help laid bare in our – and particularly American – society.

My normal reaction to stress is to start eating badly. Fruits and berries are abandoned for large bars of chocolate, crisps and cake. It could be worse, I suppose, in that Donald Trump has not yet driven me to alcohol, despite his suggestions that people inject themselves with disinfectant.

I decided that a bit of help with stress reduction was in order, so I tried a newly launched technological option. I’m normally pretty oldschool, but the Sensate II unit has some impressive credentials and reported performance levels. The Sensate II is a new version of UK tech start up BioSelf’s Sensate wearable device, which was originally created for those with PTSD. It’s a small, pleasingly shaped pebble unit that sits on the breastbone and pulses in coordination with your selection of a series of tracks that can be downloaded to your phone via their app. It offers the benefits of meditation, helping to regulate the nervous system and tone the vagus nerve - the neural superhighway that connects the brain to the gut. It’s been developed and tested in a Harley Street clinic over the last three years, which reported a 98% positive patient outcome, helping

SENSATE II: The perfect ANTIDOTE TO STRE SS

those with stress or depression. It was easy to set up, seems to last a long time before needing recharging and the app was easy to use. I had a few teething problems losing Bluetooth connections initially, but this was probably my fault, rather than a technological shortcoming.

When testing it, I simply lay on my back in the middle of the living room floor and was whisked away by the soundtrack through my headphones. It takes about ten to thirty minutes depending on the track you choose. I found it instantly calming and, because you are effectively cocooned in a pod of ambient sounds, it’s easy to disconnect and empty your mind of worry. I found the tracks promoted visualisation and felt comforting. The only issue I had was when listening to a track of

birds and visualising myself wandering through a miraculously bug-free jungle and a giant anaconda dropped from a tree and landed on my face. This broke the mood of relaxation a little. There may have been a scream and a bit of thrashing about. The dog has a very large rope toy and a strange sense of humour.

My partner also tried the Sensate II and has now incorporated it into his relaxation routine each evening. He uses it in a chair, thus avoiding snakerelated incidents. He’s found it genuinely helpful in reducing stress and feels it has improved his sleep considerably. n

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The Sensate II costs £299 and is available to pre-order from www. getsensate.com which sometimes has special offer pricing available.