TouchPoints

Fear and anxiety hold us back. Fear of failure, fear of what has happened, or what may happen. In modern life, it is everywhere. According to Forth (2018), in the UK we feel stressed and anxious an average of nine days per month, and over half of us worry about the impact this is having on our health. Anxiety over money and work are also never far from our minds. We start worrying early in life too, with 75% of mental health problems becoming established by the age of 24. Touchpoints can combat this anxiety, and it can do it quickly.

Touchpoints work to calm anxiety and stress. Using patent-pending BLAST (Bilateral, Alternating, Stimulation, Tactile) technology. Touchpoints are worn on either side on the body, such as the wrists or ankles, or discretely in a pocket. They work using adjustable vibrations, known as BLAST (Bilateral, Alternating, Stimulation, Tactile) to gently stimulate alternate sides of your body to alter the function of your brain, calming down the sensation of fear and anxiety. Touchpoints are backed by decades of scientific research and they are effective. Studies show Touchpoints can help calm the stress response by 70% in just five minutes.

Who’s behind it?

Touchpoints were invented by neurophysiologist Dr. Amy Serin after a decade of research in her field. Dr. Serin realized that a key part of the effective treatment for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) could be developed into a stand-alone product. After successful trials to demonstrate effectiveness, and with the backing of existing neuroscience research, Touchpoints were ready for launch.

How do you use Touchpoints?

Touchpoints are for the whole family and they can help us in many of the daily situations that we all face. Anxious before an interview? Touchpoints can help with that. Weighed down by negative thoughts? Touchpoints can relieve those too. How about a toddler tantrum? If used early, touchpoints can help prevent these from developing, or if the tantrum is in full swing that can help calm your agitated child. In fact, Touchpoints have such a wide range of applications that Dr. Serin has developed a very handy encyclopedia of Touchpoints uses from A-Z.

Touchpoints and Children

Touchpoints really come into their own when helping children to control their emotions and establish routines, such as when it's time to focus on homework or wind down for bed. One particularly fascinating area is the application of Touchpoints for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), helping them cope with sensory overload and sensitivity in a very accessible way. So much is this the case, that Touchpoints are now helping over 100,000 people with this condition.

The User Lab test

Set up. The initial set up of the touchpoints is very easy, like most things they need charging before you can set them up which is very simple with the double wired USB charging cable that comes in the box. When they are plugged in, a red light will come on and when the light goes off this indicates they are fully charged.

The Touchpoints come as a pair, so one for each side of the body- so when you start them the first unit you switch on will be the ‘Lead’ unit and the second unit becomes the ‘Follower’ unit. These roles are chosen each time you switch them on so it’s not a permanent assignment that you have to remember each time which one the lead and follower last time was when you switched them on.

To switch them on you have to press the button on the ‘Lead’ unit twice and a blue light will come on which is the Sleep setting. When you switch the follower unit on you need to point the lights on each unit at each other and then press the on button on the follower unit. The light will then match that of the lead unit and the two will alternately vibrate to show they are paired with each other. The setting can be changed by then pressing the button on the Lead unit while the lights are facing each other this will change the color of the light on each unit.

• Blue= Sleep/Meditation
• Yellow= Calm/Focus
• Purple= Anger/Irritability

The Touchpoints can then be placed on each wrist as it alternately vibrates on each side. If you don’t them to have on your wrists then you can put them on your ankles or discreetly in your pockets as long as they are on either side of your body they will work. There is an optional belt clip that can be used also if that’s what you prefer.

When turning the units off make sure the lights are not facing each other and press the power button on the top until you see the green lights on the units, these will eventually disappear as the units shut down.

Easy of use. The Touchpoints are convenient and very easy to use, they are small units so are not difficult to keep in a pocket or bag so they easy to carry around and have with you when you need it. I didn’t have any issues when using them and found them easy to use whenever I needed to during the day.

Build quality. The Touchpoint units are reasonably well made, the units are water resistant but not suitable for swimming or getting too wet. I feel there’s more function over design with the touchpoints, the units look quite basic but the function and effect they produce are very good and they work well. So as long as your not too worried about the overall design and value the impressive effect on stress and anxiety this can help with, then these are for you.

What the experts say

We collaborate with some of the greatest minds in the industry, to provide you with a truly independent view of the products we test. The Lab is the heartbeat of Well Professor, where we do all the hard work so you don't have to. Inside you can find the academic reports of the science behind the product technology and see which claims are backed by real evidence.

Read the lab report here. 

"The claims and benefits of touchpoints are supported by specific product testing by academics." - Dr. David Broom, Sheffield Hallam University

The Well Professor Verdict?

If fear and anxiety are holding you back, Touchpoints are for you. Touchpoints are also for your entire family and the daily emotional challenges you all encounter. There is an impressive level of research behind the creation of Touchpoints, and they work.

This article first appeared in Well Professor in June 2019. To read the full article, click here.