I Got A Massage Every Day For A Week To See If It Would Help My Chronic Insomnia

As someone with chronic insomnia, I’ve done a lot for the sake of getting better sleep.

You name it, I’ve tried it. I’ve turned my phone off, taken sleeping pills, tried following military soldier techniques to fall asleep, and even hypnotism. All I got from these were a few days of an early night in before I inadvertently returned to that vicious cycle of staying up till 4AM and automatically being awake by 6AM.

I know it’s bad, but acknowledging the problem does little to help lull me into slumber. At this stage, I’ll try anything that could help.

An opportunity came in the form of an e-mail when Ogawa Malaysia approached us with their latest product called the iCuddle to review.

I’ve heard of people falling asleep during massage treatments, what with its therapeutic nature and calming vibes. Why not give it a shot?

So for a week, I sat in the iCuddle for about 30 minutes every day and each night, I checked to see if it changes my sleeping hours in any way.

Day One

First things first, I have to bring up the design of the iCuddle.

When we first received it, the compactness of the iCuddle really made it appealing. It fits most regular-sized adults without needing to be bulky and huge, so we didn’t have any issue placing it in our office. When not in use, the massage nodes also don’t protrude so it can double as a lounge chair.

Design aside, let’s talk about the functional part. The main controls for the iCuddle were located at the side.

I’m one of those annoying people that’s extremely ticklish, so massages can be a little intimidating. I wanted to start slow, so I chose the “Spot/Area” function.

Pressing it once, it started targeting my neck and the sensation was… quite surreal. It literally felt like there were a pair of human hands pressing down rhythmically on my neck over and over instead of a machine.

It took about five minutes before I got used to it (and until I stopped laughing). I then switched the setting to other spots like my back and beneath my buttocks. The next 20 minutes were then spent drifting in and out of a drowsy trance.

I crawled into bed at 12AM that night. I didn’t know what to expect but oddly enough, my body seemed to remember the motions of the iCuddle massage and before I knew it, my eyes shut and I was knocked out.

When I opened my eyes again, it was almost 3AM. Though I didn’t sleep as long as I wanted to, I did sleep almost four hours earlier than my usual schedule so that was a good sign.

Day Three

My sleeping pattern wasn’t facing a drastic change, but my mind was starting to chill and relax when it came to bedtime so I had higher hopes with this iCuddle experiment.

Something that I thought would help was moving the chair to a cosier corner as it was originally just placed in the center of our studio. Perhaps in a nook that’s sheltered from harsh lighting and noises.

It may not look like it, but the iCuddle only weighs about 28kg, so even I could easily move the chair on my own.

Once it was in its new position, I pressed the “Manual” button to test it out. According to Ogawa, there are 6 modes to this setting, which are all variations of kneading, tapping, rhythmic tapping, and rolling.

Having these varieties was nice, especially when used in conjunction with the spot/area function. I was particularly fond of the rhythmic tapping mode so I left it at that for the next 30 minutes.

The real test came at night. Again, by midnight I was already drowsy and my mind seemed ready to just shut off. This time however, I woke up around 4AM. This probably meant my body was slowly becoming accustomed to this routine.

Day Five

I was surprised at how much I started looking forward to these little massage sessions.

Just being in the chair itself actually made it easier to fall asleep, probably because of how it’s designed. According to Ogawa, the iCuddle is shaped in this ergonomic L-track that basically follows the curve of the back of your body to provide a satisfying massage experience.

As the end of the week approaches, I wanted to try out the “Auto Program” function which consists of 3 settings:

• The 1st program focuses on the neck & shoulders. It’s suitable for office workers/desk jobs or generally those who strain their shoulders.
• The 2nd program is more of a light refreshing massage which is suitable for people who are not used to strong massages or those with lower pain tolerance.
• The 3rd program is a full body rejuvenation which uses medium to strong intensity levels to relieve the user from their neck to their buttocks.

This option ended up being great for days when I couldn’t be bothered with the other settings and just wanted to combine everything. I spent 10 minutes on each mode and by the end, my body was a combination of relaxed and rejuvenated.

I had also recently joined the gym and my personal trainer doesn’t know the word “mercy” during our training. So the iCuddle became a nice treat for myself after those intense workout sessions.

Not too sure if it’s because of the proper full body massage or a combination of that with going to the gym, but I actually slept earlier that night.

I was gone by 11PM and only woke up around 4AM, meaning I got close to 5 hours of sleep. To any insomniac, that’s an achievement.

Day Seven

For the last day, I wanted to end this experiment with a bang. So I went through all the modes with the intensity set at the maximum level.

I regretted it—considering my low tolerance of pain and general avoidance to massages in general.

Safe to say that night, I was kept up until about 2AM before I managed to sleep, and not because of my insomnia.

No blame to the chair though, just to my own ambitious stupidity.

Verdict

So is this approved for my fellow insomniacs? Perhaps, if you’ve tried it all and are a fan of massages.

From my personal experiment, it did help relax the muscles of my body, and the repeated motions of the massage chair actually helped calm my mind which is usually plagued with constant anxiety.

I went from constantly getting only 2 hours of sleep a day (or sometimes none at all) to already drifting off to sleep by midnight or so.

I will say though, If I wanted to see a drastic improvement, I’d probably need to keep up this routine, which I honestly don’t mind. If sitting down for a 30-minute massage will help me get at least two more hours of sleep, I’ll take it.

If you’re keen on checking out the iCuddle for yourself, Ogawa will be launching this product first on Lazada Malaysia for their 12.12 campaign.

The launch price will be RM1,999 (RRP: RM3,999) and if you purchase during the campaign, you’ll get a RM100 Lazada voucher that can only be used during 12.12. There will also be 1 unit of the iCuddle available at RM1 on the “Slash It” deals.

After 12.12, you’d still be able to purchase the iCuddle for RM1,999 with no voucher until the end of December.

• To find out more information on Ogawa and their other range of products, you can click here.

VP Verdict is a series where we personally try and test out products, services, fads, and apps. Want to suggest something else for us to try? Leave a comment here or send the suggestion into our Facebook page.