I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.
When I got the chance to try the THYNC Relax Pro, I nearly jumped for joy! I had been looking at it already and was very interested in giving it a try. It’s tricky to make things work when you’re not working more than freelancing, though.
Earlier this year, I learned about how the FDA doesn’t really regulate medical devices. It’s a scary thing to think about. The nice part about THYNC is that they’ve done studies themselves. In fact, this device has undergone testing over the last FIVE YEARS. Throughout that time, it’s been proven to be both safe and effective.
All the testing makes sense when you learn that neuroscientists from universities like MIT, Stanford, and Harvard created THYNC. Check out some of the positive press they’ve gotten:
- How Thync has learned to hack your body, and why you’ll be glad it did
- Strap This Wearable to Your Head For Better Rest, Less Stress, And Fast Relaxation
- Thync Relax Pro relieves your stress, anxious thoughts, and poor sleep
How does THYNC work?
THYNC comes with the kinda-triangular THYNC device itself, this nifty connector that clicks into the device, and gel pads that go between the connector and your skin. Once you put it all together, it looks like this:
You then open up the app, make sure the two connect via Bluetooth, and select your mode. There are two modes – deep relax and deep sleep.
Deep Relax
This mode should be used for at least 10 minutes at a time. It’s great to use once daily or whenever you’re feeling stressed. This is a very light vibration.
Deep Sleep
This mode should be used for at least 15 minutes at a time as you’re nearing bedtime. When you start to get sleepy, take it off. This vibration feels a little harder to me, though that could be because of my personal adjustment needs.
Regardless of mode, the app keeps track and will provide you with trivia on stress and sleeping habits.
What’s the verdict?
Remember as you read this that your mileage may vary. My body isn’t your body, and my experiences may not be yours.
The bad:
I have a bit of a prominent neck hump from my health crud and years of not having a real bed. Because of that, it wasn’t always easy to get the pads to stick well without asking for help. You should hold still when using the device, but also not be laying down, so that can be tricky as well. I have to stretch every few minutes or my neck and shoulders freeze up.
It isn’t always as easy to use as I’d like, especially knowing that it doesn’t always stay on my neck as easily as it might for others. When flying the other day, I wanted to pop this on. However, I was aware that, if I fell asleep using it or just moved the wrong way, I might lose the device. Again, this could be a just me kinda thing, but it’s something to keep in mind if you have a neck hump as well.
There are times when the vibration is a little too much if my fibromyalgia is acting up, simply because it is a vibration-based tool.
If you close out of the app, you can’t just go back into it to control the device again. You have to turn off the device and restart it. In fact, everything with the device’s power is manual, which can be tricky with a small on/off button. I hope that future versions will have the ability to start the device from the app so that it’s more accessible for those of us with hand dexterity issues.
Really, these are just things that need some tweaking – or things that would be helpful to know as you get started.
The meh:
I don’t know that the sleep mode really helped with my sleep at all. My sleep tends to be sporadic and I usually wake up in pain several times during the night. This didn’t change at all with using the THYNC, nor did I sleep longer in general after using it.
The good:
The relax mode is wonderful. I feel more relaxed and definitely more present. I suppose that’s made easier by the reminder that this is what I’m doing right now, trying to relax. It has an added benefit that the vibrations also help my neck pain somewhat (as long as I have the settings right) which definitely helps with relaxation.
I breathe more deeply and focus more intently on the things I want to do.
Overall, I’m really enjoying using the THYNC Relax Pro. I think next I’ll pair it with some of my favorite meditations from Buddhify and see what happens. We all know I need to relax more, so it can’t hurt!
Want to snag one of these for yourself?
Visit THYNC’s website! It’s currently $49 for a 30-day trial. Note that you have to use an app with this which is currently available on Android/Google and Apple devices.