OVO JE PROMOTIVNI TEKST KOJI SE MOŽE ISKORISTITI I ON OBJAŠNJAVA CELU PROCEDURU.
Can this biohacking relaxation center make you more productive?
ReCover spa turns to top tech to help entrepreneurs, athletes, and pooped parents figure out how to best decompress—physically and mentally. I try it out.
I’m strapped into a leather lounge chair— not something I’d usually associate with relaxation—and feel awfully snuggly as the attendant cements my position with a weighted gravity blanket. It’s been a harrowing day on the New York City subway system and I am here to try out the biohacks at ReCover, a studio dedicated to helping the physically and mentally stressed re-center themselves.
I kick off my shoes, don black blindfolds and noise-cancelling headphones, and settle in. I am about to experience NuCalm (at $45 for 30 minutes), a patented set of New Agey relaxation techniques that are supposed to take me away from it all. An attendant applies a topical cream on my neck that, I’m told, restricts the body’s adrenaline at the base of my neck. Behind my ears, he places two microstimulant patches to “employ transcranial stimulation to assist the manipulation of brainwaves to theta.” Science!
The combined soothing sounds and mild sensations are meant to lull your mind into a deep restorative lucid dream state (which is why you’re strapped in). The claims are bold: One 30-minute session reportedly equates to two to four hours of normal sleep. It seems simultaneously scientific and ridiculous, but everything at this tech-oriented wellness center is slightly but delightfully off-kilter. You have to wonder: Does Gwyneth do this?
Three minutes into NuCalm, the tension brought on by the No. 1 train dissipates. Within five minutes, I’ve achieved the fuzzy state one achieves just before you’re about to doze off—the kind where thoughts shift away from your to-do list and more to lying in a lavender field. At the end of the 30-minute mark, it feels like only five minutes elapsed. It’s sedation at its best, and there’s no groggy fog or drool to contend with upon waking.
“To be at a really high-performance level, you have to go through that recovery process,” says ReCover cofounder Rick Richey. “We just create a means to facilitate that.”
RELAX, GO DO IT
Mankind has been working on the art of relaxation for, like, forever. From Roman baths to Brookstone gadgets (RIP) and mindfulness apps, our search continues. ReCover elevates the concept to focus it on individual productivity. What if, it asks, relaxation techniques could help you physically and psychologically function at a higher capacity?
A few years ago, cofounders Rick Richey and Aaron Drogoszewski saw an industry that positioned recovery as a last resort, usually in response to injury or a mental breakdown. The overworked or overactive run themselves down without incorporating time for their bodies and mind to heal from stress. Often, like in exercise, overstimulation without proper recovery leads to compromised results.
“Over and over, we see people don’t take care of themselves,” says Richey. “They usually just take care of pain.”
The entrepreneurs imagined a studio that could help a range of clients consistently recover from whatever holds them back, no matter their profession or goals. Athletes often have access to such optimization technology, but what about the frequent-flier CEO or the hard-wired mom? The duo opened ReCover in March, focusing on fine-tuning cognitive function skills, stress management, even sleep quality.
At ReCover NYC, a neon signs glares, “Restore, reboot, and reshape.” That purposely means different things to different people, explains Drogoszewski. “Anybody that has a performance demand has performance stress . . . [this is] for optimum performance in whatever you do.”
WE ARE ALL STRESSED
Over 79% of Americans report experiencing daily stress, mostly brought on by work and family obligations, according to Gallup. Meanwhile, the CDC reports that 1 in 3 adults don’t get enough sleep. Those facts alone fueled entire industries dedicated to making people feel better–or just less miserable. From health supplements to biohacking centers to butter-infused coffee, we all have different ways of dealing.
Richey and Drogoszewski both worked as fitness trainers and had a front-row seat to a monumental shift toward “wellness.” Clients no longer wanted to just body build or cut fat; they wanted to feel and function better. Recovery grew into a sizable sector of the fitness industry, with the American Council on Exercise rating it a top consumer trend.
“We see people buying more foam rollers and percussion devices that help to facilitate recovery, but there are so many more technologies out there that can provide much more in-depth focus than these modalities,” explains Richey. These cost-prohibitive technologies end up in top athlete-training facilities or Dave Asprey’s personal gym.
ReCover is not, however, a rehab facility. It’s the difference between a blown-out knee and strained hamstrings—or stress-induced insomnia versus a full nervous breakdown. “We’re a place to go if you may be hurt but you’re not broken,” says Richey.
The studio features a wide range of physical and cognitive technology: infrared saunas, compression therapy, 3D body scanning technology, electromagnetic radiation therapy, and hyperice vibration technology, to name a few.
It’s supposed to improve circulation and boost oxygen-rich blood cells, but all you’ll likely notice at the time is that your ears pop and you can’t stop yawning.
IS IT ALL A GIMMICK?
It might all sound rather gimmicky, but that’s partially the appeal. Undoubtedly, it might be a placebo effect, but parting with $45 to engage in a 20-minute space-age ride might just convince you that the technology holds credibility. ReCover’s offerings are based on numerous research studies, scientific backing, or hold FDA clearance, but it’s hard to determine how individuals’ bodies (and neuroses) will react.
The NuCalm eased my anxiety, but I happen to like nature doc music and simulated waves. For some, getting buckled down into a chair in midtown Manhattan is the exact opposite of zen. There are, however, numerous Google reviewers who laud ReCover’s miracle-making modalities.
Undoubtedly, there’s a strong market for busy New Yorkers who want their recovery and relaxation as quick and scheduled as their Seamless orders. Multitasking is near religion in this city. It’s why the infrared sauna rooms come complete with tablets: Why not also catch up on your Netflix queue while detoxing?
NEXT UP FOR RECOVER
ReCover plans to expand within the New York City metro area. (Eventually, they’ll bring their modalities to secondary markets, but New Yorkers, it seems, need recovery more than others.) The next iteration of the studio might look a bit different: The cofounders are in talks with high-end residential buildings as well as contemplating corporate wellness initiatives. There might even be a pop-up version of ReCover in well-known exercise studios.
“We’re starting to see a transfer from fitness centers more into wellness centers,” says Drogoszewski. “That’s the next evolution.”
The Global Wellness Institute placed a $3.7 trillion estimate on the wellness economy, with fitness and mind-body sector responsible for $542 billion. Factor in the 3.2 billion workers who report feeling “unwell,” and initiatives such as ReCover seem on track to gain further momentum.
“Nobody aspires for mediocrity,” says Drogoszewski. “If you know that you have the option to be the best version of yourself possible–whether that’s an athlete or an entrepreneur or a creative type–we understand it systemically. We help those people find balance to find their best outcome.”
Welcome to NuCalm
Where cutting-edge science meets holistic wellness. Our patented neuroacoustic technology is more than just music – it’s a gateway to your ideal mental state, from deep sleep to peak performance.