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If you’re having certain menopause symptoms, including waking up drenched in sweat at night, headaches, additional anxiety, urinary incontinence, or vaginal dryness, you’re far from alone. There are millions of people experiencing similar symptoms. “In the U.S., close to 80 million women are menopausal, experiencing symptoms that affect their ability to work, sleep, and have sex,” says Maria Sophocles, MD, an OB/GYN, and director of Women’s Healthcare of Princeton in New Jersey.
Though you may have some of the same symptoms of menopause as the person next to you, every person will experience menopause vastly differently, so there is benefit to treatments that can be customized and personalized. Menopause hormone therapy or estrogen topical creams might be the right solution for someone, while other people respond to an SSRI medication for certain symptoms like night sweats.
Beyond those options, there’s some new technology that might soothe your symptoms as well, from a wristband that catches hot flashes as they’re about to happen to a headband that encourages you to practice mindfulness during a bout of intense anxiety. “The tech sector is finally putting money and innovation into devices that affect some things that are specific to menopause,” says Dr. Sophocles, who is Chief Medical Officer of Embr Labs, which makes the cooling Embr Wave 2 wearable that helps detect and treat hot flashes.
We rounded up some of the most innovative new tech devices that can help you tackle your most uncomfortable menopause symptoms and cope throughout your day.
How to shop for menopause wearable tech
Because menopause experiences are so individual, it requires time and attention to figure out what the most important or bothersome issues are for you to solve. Before you shop for a tech device, Dr. Sophocles advises considering what symptom you’d most like to work on. “Is it that sleep is fragmented, is it hot flashes affecting your ability to work or function? Is it night sweats? For some people it could be brain fog, anxiety, or a feeling of overwhelming stress,” she explains.
Then, once you’ve targeted your own hot-button issue, you can start shopping for the menopause wearable that best suits your lifestyle (start with the below). There are devices geared toward optimizing your sleep, making sure you’re getting enough deep sleep, and addressing when you’re waking. Other devices specifically address hot flashes, which can happen during the day or at night. There’s nothing wrong with picking out multiple wearables and allowing them to work together, both on your sleep and anxiety, or your sleep and urinary incontinence, hot flashes, or vaginal dryness. They’re definitely an investment, and the options are limitless with these innovations.
Best menopause wearables
Evie Ring
Here’s a discreet, stylish ring that can tell you just about everything you need to know about your overall health. The highly anticipated Evie Ring is made to support women throughout every phase of their reproductive and general health: It keeps close tabs on your heart health, physical activity level, sleep, oxygen saturation, and menstrual cycles (so you can get a sense if you might be approaching menopause). You can also use the app to set your own health goals, rather than measuring those against other people’s natural activity and rhythms. And you can find the right ring to fit you: It comes in a wide range of sizes, from 5 to 12.
Embr Wave 2
Having hot flashes during stressful moments or during the night? Here’s your go-to wearable, which looks just like a smart watch and connects to an app on your phone. “The Embr Wave 2 addresses how a hot flash happens, and uses changes in temperature to stop the hot flash,” says Dr. Sophocles, who is Chief Medical Officer for the company. “It’s cutting back on the overall number of hot flashes you do have, helping your sleep, and reducing stress.” The device has battery life for nine hours, so basically you can turn it on any time you’re in a high stress situation for a long day or during the night, depending on what your hot flash triggers are. The wristband emits a cooling sensation, and a signal goes to the brain to cool your body, explains Dr. Sophocles. If you feel a hot flash coming on, you can ward it off by turning the device on (it can also work in a warming capacity in case you tend to get the chills). The best part? You can also use HSA dollars to pay for it.
JoyLux vFit Gold Intimate Care Device
Sexual wellness changes that may accompany menopause can be a vulnerable topic to address. JoyLux vFit Gold is designed with more comfort during sexual activity in mind. The device uses LED lights, gentle vibration, and a little bit of heat to stimulate the vaginal tissue and promote blood flow in that area. One of the biggest benefits that this technology can offer is the sense of intimacy and sexual wellness, says Dr. Sophocles. You’re inserting something into the vagina that is warm, vibrates, is medically safe, and should feel comfortable, she adds. It’s important to stay in tune with your body and your sexuality during menopause and beyond, and this price tag is totally worth it.
Thermaband Zone
Think of the Thermaband Zone as a hot flash zapper and tracker. You can program it to automatically start warming or cooling, send the message to your brain and the rest of your body once you start having a hot flash, or you can turn it on manually whenever you feel one coming on. How does it work? It tracks your typical body temperature and knows when it raises above average, or notes your typical hot flash triggers. You can also program it to keep track of other vitals like your blood pressure.
ELITONE
As much as so many people experiencing incontinence would not like to not talk about this symptom, we can’t let that happen. About half of postmenopausal women over 50 experience incontinence, according to research in the journal Menopause Review. The most common type is stress incontinence (you might leak when you laugh, sneeze, or exercise), which the ELITONE targets. Continence is a complicated issue that’s personal to each individual, and you may need pelvic floor physical therapy in some instances, explains Dr. Sophocles. But here’s something you can do at home while you’re exercising, getting dressed, or cooking.
Basically you put the soft gel pads in your underwear and clip the controller to the inside of your belt or to your underwear. Once you turn it on, the device sends small electric signals to the pelvic floor muscles and nerves to help them contract and then relax. By using the device for 20 minutes a day, those muscles can get stronger to help you combat leaks.
IdentifyHer
Sometimes menopause symptoms, especially during the start of perimenopause, can be a bit nebulous. You might be super bloated, or sometimes extra sweaty, and not know exactly why that is happening or in what stage of the process you’re in. IdentifyHer is a wearable that can help in that situation. It’s meant to be worn under the chest and tracks the frequency and severity of your hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and more. Then, it can evaluate the best path for treatment or symptom management for you. Think of it as an OB/GYN that’s constantly with you to answer your menopause questions. And don’t worry, the app is also bound by HIPPAA.
Apollo Neuro
Menopause is known for contributing to anxiety and issues with sleep, which are often connected. This sleek device and band assists with both, and comes in five different colors (it also has a clip in case you prefer to wear it on your bra or pants). It vibrates on your wrist or chest, and the soothing vibrations it releases communicate with your nervous system to help you achieve a state of calm homeostasis throughout the day. You can program your Apollo Neuro to different rhythms, for a sense of focus, energy, calmness, or to fall asleep. A new feature even keeps track of your movement at night, and prompts relaxing vibrations to make sure you stay sleeping.
MUSE 2
This is the smartest headband you will ever wear. If you’re experiencing lots of menopause-related brain fog, stress, anxiety, and jitteriness, the Muse 2 will help train your brain to zone in on mindfulness. Slip it on to guide you through meditation practices. It’ll track your brain waves and give you a gentle nudge of stormy weather sounds when your mind starts to drift. You can choose other modes: heartbeat mode, which helps your heartbeat synchronize to the sounds; body meditation mode, which tracks your body movement to help you stay still and focus; and breath meditation, to ensure that your breathing is calm and evenly paced with the sounds you’re hearing. The Muse app is your assistant to see how well your focus improves over time.