Review: CalmiGo Smart Calming Companion
Disclaimer: The CalmiGo team sent me a device to try out in exchange for feedback. I was not paid or influenced in any way beyond receiving this product for free so this review reflects my honest opinion.
“Achieve Calm. Anywhere. Anytime.” This is the tagline for the CalmiGo, a device that helps you achieve a state of calm through controlled breathing and aromatherapy.
The CalmiGo comes with a little insert that explains it was created to act as a portable solution for panic attacks and anxiety. I’d be remiss to not mention that I personally have never had a panic attack and don’t suffer from anxiety, but as a long time meditator and proponent of mindfulness I do have quite a bit of experience with all sorts of other breathing exercises and products so it’s through that perspective that I approached the CalmiGo.
How do you use it
The device is very simple, which works to its benefit. You attach a scent plate (if desired) to the device, turn it on, and then simply exhale into it. As you exhale three bright blue lights slowly appear one by one on the top of the device, which you can easily see in your peripheral vision. When all three lights are lit the device vibrates (this can be turned off) and you inhale (getting a pleasant hit of aromatherapy from the scent plate) before repeating the cycle again. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. It’s incredibly easy and simple to pick up and use, which I imagine was a major goal in its design due to being targeted towards individuals experiencing a panic attack.
Because you are breathing into the device and and not into the open air there is a very small bit of resistance with your exhalation. I’m not sure if this was intentional, but I find it helps to achieve a steady and controlled breath. This really helps to avoid shaky breaths that can actually make some people feel more panicky. That in combination with the blue lights countdown ensures a nice prolonged exhalation, which is actually quite an achievement for such a simple device. I’ve tried other things that promise to help control your breath, and I have to say that this one really gets it right.
The CalmiGo itself is perfectly portable.
It feels solid and seems durable enough to withstand being carted around in bags, luggage, and pockets.
Slow Breathing
So why bother with slow breathing? Many reasons! For starters, it is a first line defence and offence against panic attacks and anxiety, meaning that regular slow breathing practice can actually prevent future panic attacks and of course practicing slow breathing during a panic attack can help end it quicker. This is the selling point of the device, but I’d like to dive a little deeper into slow breathing.
Slow breathing (basically reducing the frequency of breaths either through mechanical resistance, conscious efforts, or guided exercise) has been an element of meditation and mindfulness practices for millennia. Recent research has linked the practice to better cardiovascular and autonomic nervous system health and indicates that it can be a potent non-pharmacological intervention for many mental ailments.
Engaging in breathing practice on a consistent basis is something that can benefit anyone, even the healthiest among us. It has been well established that slow breathing can reduce cortisol levels and help mitigate the deleterious effects of daily stress on our mental and physical health. It can also improve mood and prevent work-related burnout.
Why do I love it?
As I mentioned above, I am not a particularly anxious person. I’ve also been meditating and practicing mindful slow breathing with some regularity since high school. So with that being said you might think that I have no use for the CalmiGo, but in fact I’ve actually really come to like the little thing!
I might not have anxiety, but I have been diagnosed with adult ADHD and I find the CalmiGo to be a very powerful addition to the litany of strategies I use to manage that. This is well rooted in science as well: slow breathing has been shown to promote sustained attention in both adults and children. I find a couple minutes with the CalmiGo is a fantastic way to prepare myself for a bout of focused work and I’m far more likely to do that then to seek out a quiet spot for a bout of meditation. It’s not a replacement for meditation, but rather an additional mindfulness tool. Aromatherapy has also been researched as a possible aid for ADHD both in children and adults so CalmiGo having that functionality is definitely an added bonus.
On a more superficial level, I was impressed by the nice and mostly sustainable/biodegradable packaging. I liked that the box contained a screwdriver and batteries. The instructions were very easy to follow and well laid out. After reading the quick-start guide I felt competent enough to be able to throw out the instructions, which is great because it means the device is user friendly and intuitive.
What you’ll find inside the box (there are also some additional documents not shown like warranty information).
Any criticisms?
The CalmiGo does exactly what it sets out to do. Nothing more, nothing less. Therefore I don’t really have any criticism towards the device (except for perhaps not being rechargeable with USB-C), but I do think there is room for improvement with the instructions that come with it. For starters, the device itself forces the user to engage in slow breathing, which is great, but it doesn’t really offer guidance on how to breathe. Someone with zero prior knowledge of practiced breathing might be tempted to take shoulder-raising chesty breaths, in which case they’d be missing all the benefits that come from deep diaphragmatic breathing (also known as belly breathing).
Also, perhaps it’s a conscious marketing decision to stay cleanly in the anxiety/panic-attack realm, but I’m a little surprised that the CalmiGo hasn’t been targeted towards other areas in which it would certainly be well suited as well (e.g. mindfulness, ADHD, stress, etc.).
Finally, as much as I love the simplicity of the CalmiGo I can’t help but think of what an even smarter one would be capable of. On one hand I like that the design team resisted the trendy decision to make a device that can connect to your phone and provide you with realtime feedback and usage tracking. On the other hand that could be a cool way to expand it’s functionality (e.g. guided meditations while using the device, daily practice notifications etc.).
In Summary
I like it! This is a very portable device that can fit in bags, pockets, and purses or live non-intrusively in or around your desk. As someone that travels A LOT, I enjoyed both its portability and simplicity/ease of use (I imagine it might be quite useful for someone afraid of flying!). I don’t necessarily use it for it’s marketed purpose, but I find it to be a very welcome adjunct to mindfulness practices and a useful non-pharmacological attention booster. Overall I recommend the CalmiGo for anyone interested in using it for anxiety relief or to simply reap the benefits of slow breathing.
Check out https://calmigo.com/?fid=260 and use code KEVJBRADLEY for $30.00 USD off your own CalmiGo.