Luxury spa and wellness technology company, Gharieni Group, is undertaking a new study into two of its touchless spa treatment concept beds and their effects on the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).

The ANS is a three-part system responsible for self-regulating our important bodily functions and stimulating fight-or-flight reactions. Good health and prevention rely on a sense of balance throughout the ANS.

The trial is investigating whether Gharieni’s SpaWave and MLX Quartz beds initiate an anti-inflammatory effect in users and help rebalance their ANS.

Researcher and early human development specialist Sergio Pecorelli, MD, PhD, is leading the study in collaboration with Alina Hernandez, co-founder of the First 1000 Days of Wellness and vice-chair of the GWI’s Mental Wellness Initiative.

Results will be published in Q3 2021.

Hernandez told Spa Business Gharieni launched the trial to provide scientific evidence to underpin its products’ efficacy. She added that these kinds of studies will be crucial for spa and wellness going forward.

She believes this kind of evidence will help spa and wellness businesses stand out from the crowd and benefit the industry by reassuring customers that its healing modalities are scientifically-backed, safe and worth their money.

“This study is especially meaningful during a time when value and authenticity are highly important to the end-consumer,” said Hernandez.

The Method

The trial’s first phase involved a ‘closed’ element with 55 participants, made up of Gharieni employees and their friends and families.

Each person participated in a five-minute non-invasive test before and after a treatment to measure how the three parts of their ANS were functioning.

“In this first instalment, we saw consistent substantial improvement in the re-balancing of the ANS after participants used the beds,” explained Hernandez.

“We immediately saw improvement in the ANS’ three main areas and in the actual numbers right after treatments. In fact, we saw peak improvement after three to four treatments, with maintenance and sustained improvement over eight weeks of the study.”

The second upcoming phase will involve the same method and investigate the effects on 80 random participants in an ‘open environment’.

Hernandez shared that 95 per cent of phase one’s participants exhibited high stress levels, evidencing that the pandemic is putting populations under extreme chronic stress and anxiety.

“Chronic stress is one of the greatest challenges to health and wellbeing, because it can trigger chronic inflammation which is ultimately the root of nearly all chronic diseases,” she said.

“Populations need to know that wellness practices that counteract this imbalance should and must be embraced. We’ve already seen that using the Gharieni beds on a sustained regular basis, together with sound exercise and nutrition, is one of three important components to accompany excellent prevention and maintain a balanced ANS.”