About one in eight Britons say they always feel tired, while another third say they’re exhausted about half the time. And up to 47% of us report feeling “constantly” overwhelmed, sad, or stressed in a single year.
Devon-based charity project worker Rita Simpson says she used to count herself among both groups.
“I was told I was really good at masking, which is a handy skill to have, but it’s also exhausting,” she shared. But Rita claims that after using the wearable Nurosym, “I woke up calm, I was calm in the evenings, and I was pretty much calm all day”.
Tech like Nurosym is designed to activate the vagus nerve, which runs all the way from our brainstem down as far as the colon. It plays a role in regulating bodily functions like our heart rate, digestion, and stress response.
The vagus nerve is also associated with the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which is linked to our ‘rest and recover’ modes.
Some researchers think that “vagal neuropathy”, or disruption or damage to the vagus nerve, may be “more prevalent than currently appreciated and may contribute to a broad spectrum of physical, mental, and immune dysfunctions”.
By sending gentle impulses to this nerve via your outer ear for as little as 30 minutes a day, Nurosym aims to counter nervous system dysregulation without surgery.
It seems to offer some results. Over 60 clinical studies on Nurosym have linked it to up to a 35% reduction in anxiety, a 48% reduction in fatigue, a 31% improvement in sleep quality, a 32% increase in memory recall, and a 78% decrease in inflammation.
So perhaps it’s no wonder Rita, a Nurosym user, shared: “My mind will still try to worry and make me feel certain ways, but my body won’t join in anymore.
“My mind does what it has always done, but the thoughts don’t snowball into something bigger. They die off.”
Nurosym’s wearable device fits right over your ear like your earphones. There, it targets a part of your ear that’s connected to a branch of the vagus nerve.
Its lightweight design and compact build mean it’s suitable for travel, while the long-lasting battery should see you through weeks of up-to-60-minute-long daily sessions.
Nurosym claims you may see results as early as five days in, and you don’t need to sign up to any app or paid subscription – for a one-off payment of £599, you’ll own it outright, and if you’re unhappy, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The company says this device isn’t meant to be used by people who are pregnant, those who’ve undergone surgery to cut the vagus nerve, people with a ”severe” low resting heart rate, or individuals with an “implanted metallic or electronic device or jewellery at close proximity to the ear tragus”.
You’ll need to check with your doctor before using it if you have another implanted device, like a cochlear implant, cerebral shunts, invasive vagus nerve stimulators, pacemakers, and metal implants, or have had a heart attack within the past five years or have heart disease.
If you’re eligible, though, customers seem impressed with how long-lasting Nurosym’s results felt for them.
“After using it for a few weeks, it wasn’t something that just worked and wore off,” Rita ended.
“I feel like a different person, but I also remember that I used to feel like this… Nothing else I tried did this for me. It has given me hope because I know this isn’t how I always was, so it doesn’t have to be who I am.”
