Questions were raised today about the legitimacy of claims about the ‘magic’ bracelet Meghan Markle wore.
The Duchess of Sussex, 42, raised eyebrows when she was pictured near her home in Montecito wearing a mysterious blue patch on her wrist.
While it looked like a sticker at first glance, it was soon revealed to be a $4 gadget designed to send calming signals to the brain.
NuCalm, the US-based company that makes the “Biosignal Processing Disc,” claims that its products are “clinically proven to reduce stress and improve sleep.”
However, experts immediately cast doubt on the science that supposedly backs up one of the gadget’s main claims.
Meghan Markle was photographed this weekend near her home in Montecito, California, showing off a £3.15 patch that promises to reduce body stress
The patches, which cost $4 (£3.15) each and are sold in packs of 20 or 100, promise to make users feel more relaxed
Professor Guy Leschziner, a neurologist from King’s College London, said it looked suspiciously like ‘pseudoscience’ that it could provide the benefits of two hours of sleep in just 20 minutes.
The patches, sold in packs of 20 or 100, promise to make all users feel more relaxed and are said to work like human batteries.
They are taped to the skin three fingers below the left wrist — at the “pericardium-6 acupuncture point,” the same point where anti-nausea wristbands apply pressure to relieve nausea and vomiting. According to traditional Chinese medicine, this location has a direct connection to the heart.
Each contains a small Tesla coil – a type of electrical circuit designed by inventor Nikola Tesla in 1891.
They emit waves that mimic the natural frequencies of neurotransmitters in the body, such as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and L-Theanine.
NuCalm claims this activates the body’s internal GABAergic system, which is said to be involved in regulating anxiety, muscle tension, and memory.
The so-called biosignals emitted interrupt ‘the cortisol and adrenaline response’, the body’s main stress hormones.
Developed over a 20-year period by the late neuroscientist Dr. Blake Holloway, the devices also slow brain wave frequency and relax the mind and body, NuCalm says.
Plans, which range from £235 to £2,750 a year, see users wearing the patches alongside using NuCalm apps that promise to boost sleep and focus energy.
Users select a guided relaxation program that plays two frequencies through headphones.
These relaxation therapies, using “neuroacoustic” software, are said to convert high beta brain waves – associated with anxiety – into alpha brain waves, linked to meditation.
They are thought to be particularly helpful for those seeking to overcome a phobia of dental procedures.
Claims include that using the patch and sleep app for 20 minutes “can give you the benefits of more than 2 hours of restorative sleep,” according to the company’s website.
Jim Poole, CEO of parent company Solace Lifesciences, said, “NuCalm is magical. It is a miracle.
“It’s the perfect antidote to the emotion of our stressed times and it will change your life.”
However, the science behind the technology is weak, according to Professor Leschziner, a consultant neurologist.
He told The Telegraph there is “some evidence” that the body’s acoustic signals can be used to regulate brain waves.
But he says the company’s claims “sound like pseudoscience.”
“How on earth can you say that 20 minutes of sleep under this device is equivalent to two hours of normal deep sleep, I just don’t understand,” said Professor Leschziner.
Previous NuCalm inventions include chewing supplements, skin creams, headphones with relaxing music, and light-blocking glasses.
But NuCalm says the blue discs are the most effective and affordable invention yet.
It notes that some users experience warmth, tingling, or redness at the site of the disc, while others feel nothing. The patch can be moved to the shoulder blade or ball of the foot if it causes discomfort or irritation, according to NuCalm.
Shortly after the photos of Meghan wearing the device were shared, NuCalm posted the images to Instagram and said, “Yes, that’s the NuCalm Bio-Signaling Disc, a tool for getting the most clinical benefit from your NuCalm subscription.”
It added a link for a seven-day free trial to its post.
Proponents of the patch include life coach guru Tony Robbins, who has been accused of promoting pseudoscience and calling him a “snake oil salesman.”
“Having Tony Robbins as your main proponent should set some alarm bells ringing,” Professor Leschziner told The Telegraph.
The Duchess of Sussex has long promoted the importance of mental health.
During her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey — a year after she and the prince quit their royal duties — she revealed she suffered from suicidal thoughts, saying, “I just didn’t want to live anymore.”
Meghan told Oprah she shared her mental health issues “because there are so many people who are afraid to say they need help.”
Shortly after the interview, Prince Harry teamed up with Oprah on a six-part mental health series called The Me You Can’t See.
In this series he explained that between the ages of 28 and 32 he had used alcohol and drugs to cope with his traumatic childhood.
He added that he later turned to therapy to “heal himself from the past.”