UK start-up accelerates production of anti-stress wearable to help alleviate lockdown anxieties, improve immune systems and aid restful sleep with a 10-minute daily session
● Harley Street physician and visionary technology executives unite to cure stress
● BioSelf Technology launches new world-first, direct-to-consumer vagus nerve product, Sensate
● Originally created for PTSD sufferers, Sensate is now available to combat all anxieties
● The palm-sized, pebble-like device can be used by anyone to improve mental wellbeing and build stress resilience with a 10-minute daily session
● Clinically validated to reduce anxiety, strengthen immune system and improve sleep
Founded in October 2015 by medical practitioner of 30 years, Stefan Chmelik, BioSelf Technology is a UK start up that develops pioneering, clinically validated, wearable technology, which now offers a solution to the growing stress pandemic caused by lockdown and months of uncertainty about jobs, schooling and health.
Regular relaxation and meditation are well established as the most effective ways to self-manage stress; however few people have the time or headspace to learn or practice this important skill – particularly now we are a remote workforce.
Through his work at The New Medicine Group, the UK’s leading integrated healthcare clinic, in Harley Street, London, Stefan identified that more people than ever suffer and die from stress-related issues. Many heart conditions, obesity, cancer, sleep problems and many mental and physical health issues like chronic pain are preventable if stress is properly managed.
With a core team comprising Google Glass’s principal architect, Grant Allan PhD, Anna Gudmundson, former Vertu head of services and and tech turnaround CEO, and Cameron Ward, a Senior VP and global supply chain expert, BioSelf Technology’s mission is to educate people about tackling stress in a simple, yet effective manner.
Sensate’s secret of success:
Have you ever wondered why a purring cat on your chest is so calming? Sensate is the first product to use low-frequency infrasound to regulate the nervous system and tone the vagus nerve – the neural superhighway that connects the brain to the gut, passing through all major organs on its long pathway.
Sensate is a palm-sized, pebble-like device that can be used by anyone to improve mental wellbeing and build stress resilience with a 10-minute daily session.
The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for calming the body after periods of stress and anxiety. Sensate can deactivate our “fight, flight, freeze” emergency response when stress threatens to overwhelm us, bringing our body back into balance and the “rest and digest” state.
Sensate sits on the chest and syncs with a free mobile app that plays from a library of meticulously composed sounds that synchronize with its infrasonic rhythmic pulses to promote immediate relaxation.
The team behind Sensate:
In December 2019 Stefan joined forces with tech CEO Anna Gudmundson, who had advised the BioSelf Technology board for two years. Stefan immediately recognised how her technology and business expertise would boost his route to market and global growth.
With a background in business and technology consulting with international companies for over a decade, Anna has a proven track record growing businesses, identifying opportunities and creating new revenue streams. Previously, Anna was parachuted in as CEO for a debt-ridden publicly listed fitness tracker business struggling in a saturated market, which she turned around against all odds and sold.
Prior to this, Anna was head of services and service product management at Vertu, the British-based manufacturer and retailer of luxury handmade mobile phones. Anna negotiated critical contracts between Android with Google and WindowsPhone with Microsoft, and managed a global budget covering services and applications across all platforms and regions..
Market opportunity for Sensate:
The global workplace stress management market size is expected to reach $11.3 billion by 2025, rising at a market growth of 8.5% CAGR between now and then, while the global workplace wellness market, which was valued at $46.08 billion in 2018, is growing just as rapidly and is expected to reach $74 billion by 2026, expanding at a CAGR of 6.1%.
Anna comments: “Sensate is an incredibly powerful device that focuses on improving sleep and improving underlying health conditions by activating the vagus nerve, using sound, rather than electric stimulation. It is also the first device to achieve this reliably, consistently and without training, using technology to recreate natural chest harmonics, without effort and in only a 10 minute daily session”
“10 minutes of deep relaxation is like a super-charged power nap as Sensate’s infrasound ‘massages’ the vagus nerve with precise musical vibrations that soothe and calm the user, from the very first session.”
What Sensate testers say:
Sensate delivers health benefits more commonly associated with long-term meditation practices; specifically, improved heart rate variability, which is a key marker for health.
Users of the prototype 1,000 Sensate devices report:
● Feeling instantly relaxed
● Improved deep sleep (tracked with a sleep tracker)
● Lower resting heart rate and heart palpitations
● Improved blood pressure readings
● Better stress management
● Reduced anxiety and depression levels
● Feeling happier
● A profound calming effect
● Improved focus
(Taken from unsolicited user testimonials)
Stefan Chmelik, founder of BioSelf Technology and creator of Sensate, explains: “Stress and mental health issues are a 21st-century health crisis, with 300 million people globally suffering from depression and anxiety.”
“Human beings have made their chest vibrate and resonate since the first hominids sat in a circle thumping their chests and howling at the moon. Through song, chant, mantra, prayer, oming, breath, meditation and music, we have found ways to stimulate feelings of wellbeing, harmony, and belonging.”
How to use Sensate:
Sensate works in as little as 10 minutes a day, but many people experience more benefits from a longer session. It works best in a quiet environment, so is perfect if at home, but Sensate can be used anywhere there’s a quiet spot to relax. Just place Sensate on the chest, pop on headphones and pair with the free app to choose from a collection of meticulously composed soundscapes. Tap play on the app, close your eyes and experience a shortcut to profound calm. Each session varies in length from 10 to 30 minutes and a fully charged Sensate lasts up to one week with daily use.
Sensate costs £299 but is available to pre-order from www.getsensate.com for £199 for a limited period.
For more information, interviews with Stefan Chmelik or Anna Gudmundson or a reviewer sample, contact Nic Corns at nic.corns@makehoney.com
Anna Gudmundson, CEO, BioSelf Technology
Anna is a senior technology business leader in the international high-growth scene with 15+ years of experience including CEO, VP Product and interim executive roles, alongside ongoing advisory and contract work in health-tech, SaaS, data and consumer technology. Previously a turn-around CEO, Anna helps executives in the technology sector optimise and deliver product, brand and business strategies.
Anna has a keen interest in personal and human improvement, exponential growth technologies, product design, user behaviour and psychology, and has recently focused on transformational technology that does good in the world and has strong commercial viability. This was a key reason behind her joining BioSelf Technology, where she focuses on solving mental health and stress crises, using innovative technology such as Sensate.
Born in Sweden, Anna moved to the UK in 2004, where she is currently still based, but she has previously lived in Spain and France as well as spending long periods of time in Africa. She is fluent in four languages and developed a 3D programming language as a project in Madrid.
Stefan Chmelik, Founder, BioSelf Technology
Stefan has been a key figure in the development of natural healthcare in the UK, with experience of working within government groups and committees in the regulation of professional standards in the UK. He is a past President of the Register Of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM) and he established the first Masters programme for Oriental herbal medicine in the UK.
With 20 years teaching experience at undergraduate and Masters level, Stefan is one of only a handful of physicians who is knowledgeable about both traditional and modern medicine. He has extensive experience as an integrated medical gatekeeper and diagnostic physician, acquired through his work as Founder of Harley Street healthcare team, New Medicine Group.
Stefan has personally overseen the care of thousands of patients and he pioneered the use of the Satori Zen System in the UK, which is now achieving remarkable clinical results. His own meditation practice started over 40 years ago, and includes extended Vipassana retreats and several years studying under Buddhist Masters such as Ajahn Sumedho, Abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery and Tibetan High Llamas. He has undertaken the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme (MBSR) training and completed silent retreats under S.N.Goenka and Jon Kabat-Zinn, the originator of modern Mindfulness.
Stefan has talked in-depth about the subject of understanding health and self-healing through natural medicine, eating and lifestyle, and holistic healthcare as the right model for the 21st century on Richard and Judy, The Big Breakfast, Breakfast TV and the BBC Radio and World Service to name just a few.