A guide to how best use NuCalm.
When to NuCalm
The time you choose to NuCalm depends on a variety of things. Your lifestyle and daily schedule is something to take into consideration, as well as how you feel on a given day and what you are hoping to gain from your NuCalm session.
Morning:
For people who have busy schedules, morning NuCalm sessions are often an opportune time and may be the best way to form a habit. Set your alarm for 30min before your regularly scheduled time. As most of us do not get a full eight hours of sleep or great quality sleep, this morning session will help finish off what your sleep didn’t. NuCalm will give you a more energized and focused start to your day. However, first thing in the morning your body fires a lot of cortisol and adrenaline so you may have a difficult time going into a very deep state. If your mind wanders or races this is okay, your body is still getting all the benefits of deep restoration.
Afternoon:
Ideally, the best time to NuCalm is during that afternoon “lull,” where your body naturally feels tired. At this time you will be able to go into a much deeper meditative state, just on the verge of sleep. Instead of a nap, or coffee, or sugar, try NuCalm, for a more restorative and effective solution. If you can go to your natural endpoint, that’s fantastic, if not a minimum 20-minute Power Nap will give you the “pick-me-up” you need.
Evening:
Similar to caffeine, many people find they may be too energized to sleep at night after a late NuCalm session. Make note of your sleep patterns after evening NuCalm use to find your cut-off time. We usually recommend that people avoid late evening sessions or sessions – not less than 3-4 hours before bed. The NuCalm will leave you feeling energized so doing an evening session then stimulating your brain with activity or food may make it difficult to fall asleep. This being said, you may have a deadline or need to pull a late night every once in a while, and the 20 minute Power Nap is these cases will keep you focused and awake longer.
Bedtime or middle of the night:
Ideally, the Deep Sleep journey, which is part of the premium or Mastermind subscriptions, should be used when trying to fall asleep, stay asleep, or get into deep sleep.
If you have the standard subscription, you can try to use NuCalm right before bed or in the middle of the night, if you are having a hard time falling asleep or back asleep. NuCalm isn’t intended as a sleep aid, but since it can clear away racing thoughts brought on by stress, prepare the body for sleep and recovery, and guide the brainwaves down to the verge of sleep, it can help people fall asleep more seamlessly. If you’re doing NuCalm to help you get to sleep, use the Rescue journeys.
Where to NuCalm
Your NuCalm sessions are best experienced in an environment with minimal distractions but can be done anywhere you find comfort. A fully or partially reclined position is optimal for NuCalm use. In the bed, in a zero gravity chair… any position in which your body is allowed to relax. Even uncomfortable situations like an airplane seat will be made more comfortable with NuCalm.
When you enter parasympathetic dominant state and as you prepare for sleep, your body temperature decreases. When it is relaxing and inactive, there is less metabolic heat production, so this is normal and why it’s best to use NuCalm with a blanket.
How Long to NuCalm
Ideally, you want to try to go to your natural endpoint whenever doing a NuCalm session. This means that you end your NuCalm session whenever you naturally “wake up” or start to be aware of your surroundings again, the same way you would after a nap. This may be anywhere from 20 – 90 minutes. Some signs of your natural endpoint include: feeling alert and more aware of your surroundings, feeling distracted and antsy, moving around, and faster breathing pace.
Your body will tell you how long your NuCalm session needs to be. The best way to achieve homeostasis or balance is to “wake up” or finish a session naturally.
If you don’t have time to go to your natural endpoint, choose a time stamp that allows for the maximum amount of time you have. We recommend a minimum of 20 minutes a day to really feel the benefits of NuCalm.
How Often to NuCalm
NuCalm is kind of like exercise, but for the mind. The more you use it, the more balanced you will be and better able to bounce back from stress. If you are using NuCalm every day, there is less balancing to be done each time. And with consistent use of NuCalm, you will see that the natural endpoint of your session will become shorter over time. As you become more balanced, the less you will need. But if you go too long without it, your stress resilience will naturally decrease.
At a minimum, we recommend completing a NuCalm session 3-4 times a week. NuCalm is not addictive, and you will not build a tolerance to it.
NuCalm is balancing your autonomic nervous system. If you are using it every day, there is less balancing to be done each time. The natural endpoint of your session is when you start feeling restless and just “wake up”, similar to waking up from a nap. Going to your natural endpoint means you have achieved complete autonomic nervous system balancing for the day.
With consistent use of NuCalm, you may experience that the natural endpoint of your journey will become shorter and more predictable over time.