Meghan’s got one. Gwynnie, too. But should YOU get a stress-busting wrist patch?

It costs $4 and messes with your head (in a good way) to hack your brain’s natural stress responses and calm you down. That’s what the Duchess of Sussex seems to believe. But does the NuCalm ‘processing disc’ really work? Olivia Petter investigates

Meghan Markle, who has been spotted using products by NuCalm that purport to slow the beta frequencies of your brain (iStock/NuCalm/Getty Images)

Feeling a bit worn out? Wondering why you feel so stressed all of the time? Can’t remember the last time you had a full night’s sleep? The solution might be easier than you think. Forget about yoga and mindfulness, all you need is a $4 patch to pop onto your wrist. That’s apparently the solution to life’s troubles if you’re the Duchess of Sussex, who made headlines earlier this week after being photographed wearing a small blue disc on her inner left wrist that promises to reduce stress using “neuroacoustics”.

The device, made by American company NuCalm, connects to a smartphone app and purports to slow the beta frequencies in your brain, subsequently reducing stress levels. By using headphones, users can choose one of four programmes to listen to that are designed to slow brain wave function and “naturally guide your brain to different frequency states on demand” via “complex physics, mathematics, and algorithms built into a software that lies beneath music”. Got that?

Meghan hasn’t spoken about the device but her support has already served as a major boost for NuCalm. “We’ve seen a major spike in sales, website traffic, and social media engagement in less than 24 hours of the news story breaking,” NuCalm’s CEO Jim Poole told Hello. “I always enjoy seeing people use the NuCalm biosignal processing discs because it means they are making time and effort to take care of themselves.”

The duchess is not the only fan, either, with Gwyneth Paltrow and self-help guru Tony Robbins both said to be advocates of NuCalm. As for why she’s started seeking help from a tiny piece of technology… well, that’s not entirely clear. Meghan has spoken out about her struggles with mental health in the past, most famously telling Oprah Winfrey that she experienced suicidal thoughts during her pregnancy with her first child, Archie, in 2019.

“At its core, NuCalm leans on the promise of biochemistry and neurophysics,” explains Dr Joseph Ambani, medical doctor at Glow Bar London. “It uses CES (Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation) to essentially ‘hack’ your brain’s natural stress response by targeting the brain’s amygdala, the stress response centre, and introducing interruptions to its regular patterns using electromagnetic frequencies.”

How effective it is – or isn’t – depends on the user. Regardless, NuCalm’s technology is part of a booming industry, with more and more tech companies investing in mental wellness and launching new products designed to alleviate stress. Take Sensate, a small black pebble that uses the “natural power of sonic resonance to calm your body’s nervous system”. Like NuCalm, Sensate connects to a smartphone app and works by synchronising vibrations with different soundtracks designed to alleviate stress.

But that’s not all. If you have a problem today, a tech device most probably exists to solve it. You can now buy everything from sleep lights and air purifiers to meditation wands and “brain headbands”. There are speakers, pillows, watches, machines, earplugs, and clocks, all of which promise to help you live a calmer, more relaxed life.

Tech solutions can never replace or replicate the role of social relationships in helping people to manage stress

Dr Felicity Baker

The irony, though, is that all of these products are being released alongside bodies of research telling us that technology is bad for our brains, that too much screen time can overload our sensory systems and deplete mental reserves, or hinder sleep quality and lead to an increased risk of anxiety. How, then, are we supposed to believe that the solution to all this is ostensibly also the cause?

“Tech is a popular go-to for stress relief because it’s a popular go-to for everything,” says Elaine Kasket, psychologist and author of Reboot: Reclaiming Your Life in a Tech-Obsessed World. “Even without a dedicated app that targets stress, it’s important to acknowledge that we’re already deploying our tech to try and relieve our discomfort, whether that’s using it to distract ourselves or avoid difficult emotions, or using it in a way that deliberately targets stress.”

Another major appeal could be that, for some, seeking tech as a solution is a lot easier than broaching the complexities of mental health with someone in real life. “When it comes to mental health problems, stigma can prevent us from seeking help through traditional means, such as talking to friends, visiting a doctor or seeing a therapist,” says Dr Felicity Baker, clinical psychologist and co-founder at Ultimate Resilience. “Tech offers a non-threatening solution, including tools and strategies that we can try out without having to admit to others that we are struggling.”

But can any of these products actually make a tangible difference to how we’re feeling? That’s where it gets complicated. After all, aren’t these devices simply encouraging us to utilise bodily tools we already have access to naturally? “They can be helpful when you use them to train yourself to pay better attention to your sensations, thoughts, emotions, muscle tension, breathing, and so forth,” explains Kasket. “When we’re better at being mindfully aware of these things, we’re able to realise and acknowledge when we’re stressed, and ideally, we’re better positioned to take action in our lives to reduce it.”

But these are things we can do with or without a piece of technology. “We’re all capable of training ourselves to tune into these things and to learn how to use certain techniques – square breathing, for example – to engage our parasympathetic nervous system and calm ourselves down,” adds Kasket. “One doesn’t have to pay for expensive equipment to do it. It’s not necessary. I get a bit concerned when the marketing for devices trade on techno-utopian fantasies that we can just flick a switch or buy an app and revolutionise our experience.”

Additionally, reducing stress is never going to be as simple as sticking a small disc onto your wrist. There are countless other things that will affect it, such as diet, exercise and sleep. The old saying that “you can’t out-train a bad diet” also applies here: you can’t out-stress a bad lifestyle.

“The experience of stress might mean you need to make some life changes – like keeping your boundaries differently, or doing more of the stuff that you value, and changing the balance of your life to incorporate more of what matters,” says Kasket. “Or perhaps it means that something really unworkable is going on – something to do with a toxic work or home environment, or a difficult relationship, and it’s your body’s sign that things aren’t right. Sorry, but there’s not an app for that.”

Meghan looks joyful at an event with Prince Harry in December... potentially because of her anti-stress device? (Getty Images)

While there could be short-term benefits to tech-aided stress reduction, health experts are also dubious about whether they can last long-term. “They do not help us to understand our triggers for stress, nor to recognise when our ways of coping may be unhelpful and keeping stress levels high,” says Dr Baker. “Tech solutions can never replace or replicate the role of social relationships in helping people to manage stress, either. When we connect with people we trust, we feel calm and safe, and this naturally helps to reduce the sympathetic nervous system arousal that is linked to stress.”

Real-life interactions can also boost clarity in thought, as well as inspire confidence in sharing your problems and subsequently listening to different perspectives on them. All of that could help prompt positive behavioural changes or thought patterns, too. Again, as appealing as it might sound to have an app or a tiny blue disc replicate all that, it’s just not the case.

There’s no doubt that smart tech could help us, particularly when used alongside other forms of stress reduction, such as lifestyle changes. But ultimately, it’s only ever going to help us so much. I have no doubt that little blue disc is helping Meghan – but given her known love of yoga, and the fact that she’s wealthy and famous and living in sunny California, I also doubt it’s the only thing she’s doing.