I love a bit of sleep tech. It is possibly because I’m not very good at actually sleeping these days; if I average six hours, I’m doing well, but like most people, I function much better on a little more. My watch consistently tells me that I need to get to bed earlier, that I need to stay asleep for longer and that what I do manage is not quite up to scratch when it comes to restorative sleep. So the idea of being able to buy my way into a more restful night’s sleep is an alluring one.
But even I did a double take at the Woojer Mat. It pitches itself as a high-fidelity, haptic mat that brings vibroacoustic therapy to your home.
You would be forgiven for asking, like I did, “vibro what now?” Think of it as an immersive massage, using low-frequency vibrations that gently relax you instead of being pummelled into submission.
The Woojer Mat promises to help you relax and recharge, using the vibrating mat, your headphones of choice and an app to control the programmes. All you need to do is plug in your headphones, choose whether you want to feel the wonder or energise yourself, and wait for the magic to happen. Assuming you believe in such things.
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At first glance, the mat doesn’t look like much – a thick yoga mat, with a control panel on one side. What you can’t see are the haptic transducers inside, which vibrate along with the various meditation programmes, or just your music. The intensity can vary from a mild rumble to audible shaking; the control panel lets you increase or decrease the intensity of the vibrations, along with the volume of any audio you might be playing through your headphones.
It needs not one but two apps: one to connect the mat to your phone and wireless headphones, and a second to access Woojer’s programmes, whether your goal is relaxation or bumping up your energy levels. You will need to be close to a power outlet too, to plug in the mat.
Getting set up takes only a few minutes, and you can use the Woojer device app to control the intensity of the effect, install device updates and generally keep things running smoothly.
The first test comes post workout. Lying on the mat, I decide to go for a bit of “harmony balance”, followed by “deep dive” for workout recovery. That covers 45 minutes of vibrations and soothing music. Despite my scepticism, the entire process feels more relaxing, and although the next day I still have muscle aches, they don’t hang around as long as normal.
I have to select my wireless headphones every time I start up the mat – it is competing with my phone for the wireless connection – but there is the option for wired headphones too. It depends on how you are going to use the mat: will it be an occasional therapy session or will you be making it a permanent feature of your wind-down and wake-up routines. It is not very relaxing – and perhaps unwise – to fall asleep to soothing meditation music and wake up with headphone wires wrapped around you.
But if you have dreams about transforming your bed into an acoustic therapy hub, you might need to temper expectations. This is a single mat, so if you share a bed it might be a problem for the person who gets some of the distractions and none of the relaxation benefits. It also makes one side of the bed a good bit higher, so you may be destined to drag the mat out from its storage bag for the sake of harmony.
But some people are willing to make the sacrifice in the interests of journalism, so I get to leave the mat in place, at least temporarily. This is the ideal scenario, because it means the mat is always on hand; I would be less likely to use it if I had to unfold it every time.
The surprising thing is that it works. Or at least it does for me and the handful of guinea pigs I persuade to test it out, just to prove it wasn’t a fluke.
The first night I tried out the mat, I felt like I got a good night’s sleep; my watch agreed, with my sleep score increasing. While I wouldn’t usually be a slave to the number crunching when it comes to sleep – you can generally work it out for yourself that if you are tired you need to sleep more, longer or with fewer distractions – it does make a nice change from being told that my sleep is sub-par. Apparently all I needed to do was “experience Sonder”, courtesy of Woojer and some haptic feedback.
The app has a variety of therapy programmes. I am working on activating my “inner genius”, with a side order of “endorphin boost” and the occasional “brain fog detox”. I haven’t quite seen the benefits of those yet – my inner genius is steadfastly refusing to come out and transform me into a millionaire – but the “Amazonian grounding” feels nicely relaxing.
If you want to use the mat with your own audio – your favourite music, or some guided meditation in another app – the mat will vibrate along to it. Bass heavy works best; accidentally connecting it to Netflix and an episode of House does not.
Good
Easy to set up and get started, the mat is easier than investing in a dedicated vibroacoustic bed. The motors are powerful and feel like they are having an impact on muscle stress. I would have happily lain there for an hour going through the different programmes, once I got over my scepticism about the process.
Bad
This is not a budget device. At a regular price of €1,089, you might be tempted to shove some speakers under the mattress and turn the bass up to 11. But a small vibroacoustic cushion can cost about half that, so the full mattress topper doesn’t seem like a bad deal in that light.
Everything else
It comes with a carry bag, but it isn’t quite as compact as you might think – it would still be reasonably bulky to carry around, but it gives you a more convenient storage space.
You aren’t limited to the programmes on the Woojer app; you can use any audio and the mat will react to it.
Verdict
A nice way to relax and deal with muscle stress, even for the sceptics among us.
