If the first quarter of 2026 has felt relentless, you’re not alone. Thus far, it’s been the hardest start to a year I’ve had in recent memory; two in-laws lost in quick succession, close friends navigating crises, and the cumulative weight of wrapping my first full year working for myself. Never mind that I ended 2025 with a routine surgery and was in recovery as the year kicked off. Stress and emotional instability have been at an all-time high, and my body has been keeping the score.
It isn’t just the hard starts that wear us down. Not sure about you, but the past five years have seen me fighting mycotoxin exposure, GI issues, and mineral depletion. After working with every functional practitioner under the sun, I’ve come to understand viscerally how much the nervous system sits at the centre of it all. When it’s dysregulated, nothing works: sleep deteriorates, inflammation rises, and even the simplest decisions feel like trying to find focus in a thick fog. So when I heard about Pulsetto, it didn’t strike me as just another gadget—it felt like an offering.
What is Pulsetto?
For those unfamiliar, Pulsetto is a wearable vagus nerve stimulator, a small, curved device you wear around your neck. Its key stimulation points rest on the vagus nerve—the body’s longest cranial nerve, running from the brainstem through the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. As the master regulator of the parasympathetic nervous system, the vagus nerve is the “rest and digest” counterpoint to our fight-or-flight sympathetic response, where so many of us are seemingly stuck.
By delivering gentle, clinically studied electrical pulses to the vagus nerve, Pulsetto sends a direct signal to the brain to activate the parasympathetic state, measurably improving heart rate variability (HRV), the marker most associated with stress resilience, recovery, and overall nervous system health.
In everyday use, Pulsetto is elegantly simple. I find a comfortable spot, apply a small amount of conductive gel to my neck, and position the device at the base of my throat where the vagus nerve is most accessible (you’ll know quickly if it’s not sitting in the right spot). I open the Pulsetto app, selecting a Stress, Sleep, Burnout, Anxiety, or Pain guided program (and hereby nominate an “All of the Above” program). Sessions start at four minutes and can extend to 20. My sweet spot is around 10, letting the calming sound design and guided exercises bring me into a real moment of reset.
Does it work?
It’s worth noting that the biohacking world is behind Pulsetto. Bryan Johnson, the tech entrepreneur widely considered the most self-measured human alive, incorporates Pulsetto into his nightly routine, reportedly wearing it in the hour before bed to lower heart rate and prepare his nervous system for deep sleep. On social media, he’s described vagus nerve stimulation as one of the techniques he relies on for calming his body and eliminating rumination loops—a relatable ambition for chronic overthinkers and people pleasers like myself.
Kayla Barnes-Lentz, one of the most prominent voices in female biohacking and longevity, has also brought Pulsetto into her protocol, describing it as “one of her favourite biohacks.” A meaningful endorsement from someone carefully examining what actually moves the needle for women’s health.
Is it for you? (TLDR: yes.)
For me, using Pulsetto feels like permission to stop. There’s the swirl and life happening all around you, and then there’s this moment. That presence is really where I feel a shift.
Expect a mild tingling—not uncomfortable, more like something you might’ve experienced at a physio appointment. Within minutes, shoulders drop, breath slows and deepens, and something within quietly surrenders and agrees to stand down.
Used consistently, Pulsetto’s effects compound. I can point to a calmer baseline, more regulation, and the ability to better recognize my limits.
Living in a time where our bodies and psyches seem constantly braced for impact, Pulsetto is solving a real, human problem. And in a wellness sea saturated with devices promising transformation, Pulsetto rises to the surface because it aligns with our body’s inherent rhythm.
I highly recommend forgetting the hustle, the chase, and the metrics for a moment, and instead, slipping into a gentle hum and the radical act of giving your nervous system exactly what it’s been asking for. —Kim Bastian
share:
Be the first to comment