Our patented technology addresses the brain circuitry in the limbic system, the hypothalamus and the brainstem responsible for producing stress and anxiety. NuCalm works specifically on the body’s inhibitory system, the GABAergic system. This device is bio-mimetic in that it resets the naturally occurring negative feedback loop of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which when properly functioning is supposed to shut off and stop releasing cortisol from the adrenal glands after the end of a stressful event. NuCalm is comprised of three discrete steps that work together to entrain brainwaves to the frequency of the first stages of sleep and create parasympathetic nervous system dominance. People in this state are physically unable to have an anxious response. Within moments of application, users will begin to feel relief from the ‘fight-or-flight’ sympathetic nervous system response and their stress hormone (cortisol) levels will begin to decline as the HPA axis is inhibited.
Stress is a biological response to the stimulus of a threat, either real or perceived. During an acute stress response, two parallel pathways are activated to prepare the body for flight-or-flight, the sympathetic adreno-medullary (SAM) arm of the autonomic nervous system and the HPA axis. Both systems can be triggered in a bottom-up manner from the brainstem by critical homeostatic perturbations, like respiratory distress, pain or inflammation – real threats. They can also be triggered in a top-down fashion from the limbic system, particularly from the amygdala, by psychogenic stressors, either innate or experiential – perceived threats. The SAM triggers the release of epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) from the adrenal medulla into the bloodstream. As these hormones circulate through the body, respiratory rate and heart rate accelerate and blood pressure increases to maximize the delivery of oxygenated blood to vital organs. This alerts the body to speed up, tense up, become hypervigilant, and take action. In parallel, the HPA axis is required to trigger a series of hormonal signals to maintain this state of hyper-alertness. The hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), which signals the anterior pituitary gland, to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). This hormone travels to the adrenal glands, prompting them to release cortisol, the well-known stress hormone. The release of cortisol can increase the production of epinephrine, as well as, trigger the glucose release from protein stores to supply the body with energy. Once the fight-or-flight adrenaline response is activated, the mind cannot rationalize itself or self-regulate until the threat is removed and time passes.
Chronic stress and anxiety are the greatest threats to your health and longevity and are estimated to affect nearly one-third of the population. They are characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components. Cognitive components include feelings of fear, apprehension, indecision and/or worry. Somatic or physical symptoms of stress can consist of heart palpitations, headaches, shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, muscle tension and/or frequent infections. Emotional and behavioral consequences of stress may comprise irritability, depression, loss of confidence, restlessness, appetite changes, insomnia and more. These are similar symptoms for a person suffering from PTSD or addiction. It is essential to treat the underlying autonomic dysfunction before the symptoms of chronic stress can be alleviated and NuCalm has this potential.
Brain Wave Lengths: What are they and how does NuCalm work with them?
The brain consists of millions of brain cells forming trillions of connections. These building blocks of the brain, called neurons, communicate with each other through chemical and electrical signals. When masses of neurons send synchronized pulses, they oscillate and produce a wave-like effect or a brainwave. Brainwave frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz) or cycles per second. Higher order brain activity will produce high-frequency brainwaves, such as beta or gamma waves. When we are awake, talking and in a normal working consciousness, we are in the beta brainwave length. As shown in the chart, delta brainwaves are the slowest and are dominant when we are in a deep sleep. As with all things in life, having a balance in brainwave activity is key to achieving optimal health and performance. We don’t want to spend too much or too little time in any frequency range.
NuCalm’s patented technology aims to bring your brainwaves into the frequency range from alpha to deep theta depending on the track you are listening to. Alpha activity is associated with relaxation, greater awareness, and the production of serotonin, a type of mood balancing hormone. It increases naturally when your eyes are closed, which is a reason the NuCalm eyemask component is important for the brainwave entrainment. Theta activity is associated with light REM sleep, dreaming, meditation, deep restoration, and the replenishment of hormone reservoirs. The alpha-theta crossover state is a combination of both alpha and theta brainwave lengths, in which all of these therapeutic effects can take place. NuCalm can deliver alpha to theta frequencies through its neuroacoustic software, which is explained further on, to entrain and sync the brain electrical activity to these frequencies specifically.
Sometimes the brain will dip into the delta state, especially if the user is very sleep deprived, but NuCalm’s main goal is to get the user into the state right of the verge of sleep and wakefulness. This is the optimal recovery zone of the body, and spending enough time in this state every day is essential to our health. This is the state where the parasympathetic system thrives and replenishes our body’s resources that were depleted with stress and sympathetic dominance. Typically, people describe their NuCalm experience as being aware of their surroundings while simultaneously feeling like they are in a deep sleep with slowed breathing, lower heart rate, a heaviness to the body, and with no movement.
Taming the Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls the involuntary bodily functions – pupillary response, heart rate, respiration, digestion, and sexual arousal.
The ANS is comprised of the parasympathetic nervous system and sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is activated when you are in a state of “fight or flight.” The parasympathetic nervous system is the “rest and digest” or “feed and breed” stage.
To achieve ANS equilibrium (homeostasis), the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems must be balanced. Due to the psychological stress that we have created for ourselves, most of us are sympathetically dominant. Why is this a problem? We all know that stress is bad for us – but what it actually means is that being sympathetically dominant for too long is bad for us. It means that weare not spending enough time in the parasympathetic state, and are missing out on the time we need to heal, regenerate and nourish our bodies. During toxic stress the adrenals are overactive and the body is being poisoned by adrenaline and cortisol. Appropriate adrenaline and cortisol release will save your life, but in excess, adrenaline can damage your blood vessels and put you at risk for heart disease, and cortisol can have seriously damaging effects on your brain health. Overactive adrenals will slowly and silently kill you with exhaustion, poor sleep, poor recovery and a compromised immune system. If you are not spending enough time in the parasympathetic state, your body is depleting all of its resources without replenishing them. This is where NuCalm can help ensure that you are achieving ANS balance every day. The more balanced you are, the stronger and healthier you will be.
Fight or Flight
When animals, including humans, feels danger, their body’s “fight-or-flight” mechanism is activated. This system releases adrenaline and cortisol and is a natural stress response necessary to protect us from physical dangers.
However, humans are the only animal to now experience psychological stress. The pace, pressure and intensity of modern life create stressors that are perceived by the body as physical stressors, thus activating our “fight-or-flight” response. Consistent and unnecessary releases of adrenaline and cortisol compromise our sleep, emotional stability, health and happiness.
Balancing the amount of time our body spends in “fight-or-flight” vs “rest-and-digest” is called autonomic nervous system (ANS) balance. The ANS regulates all of the involuntary functions of your body, including respiration, digestion, hormone levels, etc. NuCalm holds the only patent for balancing the autonomic nervous system – without drugs.
Every time you feel acutely stressed, your fight-or-flight system kicks in and begins a chemical reaction designed to protect you and preserve your life. When we are actually in a life-threatening moment, this function is genius and extremely relevant. However, when we are simply experiencing a high level of stress, our fight-or-flight response is not only in overdrive – over a lifetime, it could, literally, kill you. The amygdala (in the midbrain region) initiates your fight-or-flight response, regardless of whether the trigger is real or perceived. So, every time you experience fear or emotional stress, your body mobilizes to protect you by releasing adrenaline to activate and fuel your survival mechanism.
The “fight-or-flight” system initiates a chemical reaction that floods the blood stream with cortisol and activates our major muscle groups, senses, and vital organs to perform at peak levels to fight, flee, or freeze. This all happens without any ability to reason or think through our next move – it’s automatic and subconscious. This natural human process has worked for thousands of years and is highly refined and sensitive. Every time we encounter an intensely stressful situation (real or perceived), the fight-or- flight system is activated and away we go. Our midbrain does not discriminate whether we are in a life-threatening situation or not. So, when you have a conflict at work, an argument with your spouse, your teenager won’t listen to you, or you are late and stuck in traffic, your body behaves like your life is in danger and floods you with cortisol. In these circumstances, this phenomenon is over-kill, unhealthy, and seemingly outdated.
It’s not impossible to interrupt this response by pausing and practicing a mindfulness technique or breathing exercise, but it’s highly improbable without years of training and unusual discipline. It is critical to your health to create habits to effectively manage stress, maintain balance, and increase stress resilience. So, how do you override this basic human survival programming? NuCalm.
NuCalm will utilize your body’s own systems to naturally interrupt the midbrain stress response and transition to deep relaxation. Our hope is that we can return to a place where our flight-or-flight instincts primarily benefit rather than harm us. Stress-related conditions such as depression, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and possibly Alzheimer’s are disturbingly common. The accessibility of stress-management tools are key to improving our health and our lives.
The Power of your Brain in the Palm of Your Hand.
Backed by over 30 years of clinically proven neuroscience, NuCalm’s patented neuroacoustic software effectively turns your mobile device into a remote control to enter the brain state you desire – on demand.
Our science may be complex, but using NuCalm is designed to be simple and powerful. Harnessing the power of your brain requires nothing more than the NuCalm mobile app and a high quality pair of headphones. Our channels are specifically designed to give you access to your brain’s many superpowers, all you need to do is decide how you want to feel, and leave the rest to us.
DEEP SLEEP sets the stage for a return to healthy, restorative sleep. Stop fighting with falling asleep, staying asleep, or long morning wake-ups, and experience firsthand the difference healthy sleep makes.
Rescue lets you select your preferred journey length and pushes you into a deep restorative near-sleep state to jump start cellular regeneration, and turn off your body’s adrenal process so you can relax to the max.
Recover and Recharge in as little as 20 minutes. Power Nap is the perfect tool to fight back against poor sleep, jet lag, the afternoon doldroms, or get well rested and ready in the shortest time possible.
Experience a level of focus and inspiration typically reserved for Tibetan Monks, Artists, and Philosophers. Focus lets you go deep without taking your frequency low enough to feel tired or too relaxed.
U.S. Patent Registration No.: 9,079,030: Systems and methods for maintaining and balancing the health of the human autonomic nervous system.
U.S. Patent Registration No.: 11,090,459: Methods and devices for applying dynamic, non-linear oscillations and vibrations to elicit a physiological state change in humans.
The Patented 
Biosignal Processing Disc
Your body is an electrical conduit filled with conductive saline. Our Patented Biosignal Processing Discs create an electical feedback loop directly to your brain, using frequency resonance to calm your autonomic nervous system and prime your body and mind for recovery.
Our Biosignal Processing Discs contain ZERO drugs. The design you see on the outside houses small bits of copper that hold an very light electrical charge.
When Applied to the Pericardium 6 accupressure point, the charge in the disc is activated by your body’s Gauss Field, the natural electromagnetic field that surrounds every human. Once activated, the disc produces a frequency that instructs your brain to begin creating the Neurotransmitter GABA.
Absolutely 100% Safe for pets, children, plants, or any living thing. The minute charge in the discs cannot shock you. GABA is already present in your body, and is safe at any level, its primary purpose is to supress your autonomic nervous system (stress response) and help you begin to relax.
To learn the complete science behind our patented Biosignal Processing Discs Click Here
