If you’ve ever suffered from a migraine, you know it’s a literal and metaphorical headache. (I’ve suffered from intermittent migraine headaches since high school and have prescription medication for when I have an attack. headache and pain journal —and they’ll try anything from Botox to acupuncture to dice piercings to ease their pain.
Therabody’s new SmartGoggles offer a less invasive solution. This high-tech eye mask (the company that popularized percussion therapy with massage guns) combines massage, heat and vibration to soothe aching headaches and ease facial tension.
Massage gun maker Therabody recently released SmartGoggles, a high-tech eye mask designed to relieve facial tension, eye strain, and headache pain using features like heat, vibration, and massage. The device also pairs with the app to provide relaxing audio content and track relaxation results.
People with migraines aren’t the only ones who benefit. According to data from DataReportal, the average American spends more than seven hours looking at a screen each day. According to the American Optometric Association, just two hours of continuous screen time puts him at risk for eyestrain, dryness, blurred vision, and headaches.
I am prone to migraine headaches When I’m embarrassed to stare at my computer and phone all day. I wanted to know if the SmartGoggles were enough to stave off headaches and relieve some of the screen-induced eye strain. After testing for a week, I found the following:
What I Like About Therabody SmartGoggles
portable and foldable
At first glance, SmartGoggles look like a cross between a sleep mask and a VR headset. I wasn’t planning any trips while testing these, but I think they would pack nicely in a suitcase or carry-on to deal with travel headaches. It measures 7.9″ x 3.5″ when open, but folds up to 5.5″ at 3.9″. Plus, it uses a USB-C charging cable (same as mine for his GoPro and his MacBook) so you don’t have to carry another device. code. Overall, it’s pretty comfortable, with its padded interior and adjustable head strap. Even without the device, I felt a fair amount of extra pressure around my cheekbones. In massage mode; it weighs a pound and is hard to put on your face.
When you turn on the goggles, you can choose between 3 modes: Focus, Sleep and Smart Relax. SmartRelax is the most advanced in that it features his SmartSense, a proprietary technology that uses biometric data (heart rate) to optimize your experience. During your session, a small sensor inside the goggles detects your heart rate and uses it to create custom vibration patterns to help you relax more quickly.
In one five-minute session, my heart rate dropped from 61 to 54 per minute. His other two modes use a combination of heat, vibration, and massage to put you in a more focused state of mind or prepare you for sleep. His TheraMind section of the partner app has additional preset programs including guided meditations like “Settle Into Sleep,” “Midday Motivation,” and “Find Your Zen” (I found it more relaxing without the audio ).
What I didn’t like about Therabody SmartGoggles
Like most Therabody devices, SmartGoggles connect via Bluetooth to an app where you can select programs, adjust heat and vibration levels, and set session times ranging from 5 to 30 minutes. But goggles also have controls. Just his two little buttons above his left eyebrow that control heat and vibration. I found these buttons to be completely useless.Even if I managed to get to the correct button with my goggles on my face, I still had to peek into the app to see what exactly I changed. It might take a little more practice, but the whole point of using these, at least for me, was to avoid extra screen time, so I set everything up on the phone and then , the session continued.
I’ve done multiple sessions with all three preset modes and found them to be quite similar. Each time, the device massages around the eye socket and stretches and stretches to target a specific acupuncture point (the temple where the brow creases). I didn’t feel noticeably more alert after a focus session, or drowsy after a sleep session. I felt just as relaxed every time (which is not a bad thing!).All in all I would have actually welcomedMore more pressure. The device squeezed the hardest at my temple, but when I have a migraine, it almost always occurs in the inner corner of my right eyebrow. The headache didn’t get worse, but it didn’t go away either.
I don’t know if SmartGoggles will be the migraine cure of the future, but I’m not denying the benefits they bring. I felt visibly more relaxed each time I used it, maybe because of the massage, the heat, the vibration, or because I was away from the screen for up to 30 minutes. I think that alone can play a powerful role in physical or other stress relief for many people. A bedtime routine is a great way to relax. For those who stare at screens all day or are looking for an adjunctive headache remedy, Therabody’s SmartGoggles could be a worthwhile investment.
