Wellness device company Roga has developed a new wearable device intended to reduce stress symptoms in individuals.

The new mental wellness device offers stress relief alternatives for those who may find therapy expensive, hard to access or have limited options due to medication side effects or stigma.

Roga device users wear it like headphones, placing it behind their ears to stimulate the peripheral nerve situated behind each ear. This results in reduced rumination and worry.

The device is connected to an app that deploys artificial intelligence (AI) for delivering personalised, guided meditations.

The 16 clinical trials deploying technology like Roga's have demonstrated that utilising such wearable stimulation devices for 20 to 60 minutes daily for six weeks can result in a significant reduction of stress symptoms by up to 50%. 

Roga co-founder and chief scientist Dr Alison Smith said: “Once users calm down, they feel more resilient against the stressors they have in their life.

“This type of non-invasive, gentle peripheral nerve stimulation is based on decades of research on what type of stimulation elicits positive changes in the brain.”

Roga recently joined the University of Waterloo’s startup incubator, Velocity, to access its network, funding and mentorship, particularly to advance the development of this medical device.

Roga co-founder and CEO Ami Lebendiker said: “Both Alison and I had clinical anxiety disorders and we know what people who have anxiety are up against.

“Medication can take weeks to work and therapy is often cost-prohibitive and inaccessible; we know anxiety patients need better solutions.”