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I Tried Out This Best-Selling Acupressure Mat for a Week to Help Me Relax — Here’s What Happened
Did it work? Here's a new mom's honest review.
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
I’ve been eager to incorporate more self-care into my schedule, but finding the time has been tough. Between working 40 hours a week, taking care of my baby during my off-work hours, and checking off a to-do list of household tasks, I don’t have a lot of free time. Plus, whenever I start to book a trip to the spa or a few hours at the nail salon, the price tag of how much those activities cost always gets me to press the pause button. Since I often find myself having a few minutes here and there around for myself, I wanted to invest in a self-care item that I could bring out and use when I had a moment.
When I was scrolling through TikTok, I kept seeing people talk about the viral ProsourceFit acupressure mat, that’s only $29.99, and can go on the floor, on the couch, or even on your desk chair.
With over 10,000 therapeutic spikes on the mat and pillow it comes with, it’s supposed to offer a long list of benefits, from helping with pain reduction to giving you a dose of energy and stress-relief. After seeing that it had over 30,000 5-star reviews on Amazon and the "Best-Seller" label, I knew I had to give it a try for myself. After using it for a week, here’s what I thought.
Acupressure Was a New Technique for Me
While I’ve done acupuncture in the past, a practice in which fine needles are inserted into your skin to help with different problems and purposes, I’ve never done acupressure before.
Traditional acupressure involves a practitioner placing pressure on different areas of your body to help with circulation, stress, anxiety, and a handful of other reasons. This mat was supposed to mimic that practice in the comfort of your own home.
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
Using the Mat Didn’t Go as Planned
In online photos, the mat seemed large, as if it would cover my full body. It was advertised as a regular size, but when I took it out of the box, I realized that it would only cover one portion of my body at a time. I placed it under my back and shoulders to give it a try. It did come with a pillow as well which could be used for my neck or underneath my knees.
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
While it does have over 10,000 spikes on the mat, I imagined they would be soft since they are plastic. When I laid back on the mat, I felt surges of discomfort. The spikes were sharper on my body then I imagined they would be. It’s advertised that you can use the mat with clothes on but for better results, you can lay on it without any clothes. I tried both ways and felt it was more comfortable to use with clothes shielding my body.
Since you’re supposed to use the mat for anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes a day to get increased blood flow, muscle recovery, and energy benefits, I decided to try it out for 20 minutes. About five minutes in, I found myself uncomfortable and bored. I put my earbuds in and listened to a podcast but the spikes were digging into my skin and I felt tingles. After 10 minutes, I got up, and put the mat away for the day.
I Liked a Few of the Features
Even though the mat was smaller than I thought it would be, I appreciated how lightweight it was. It weighed less than two pounds and could easily fold up to be stored inside of my closet. During the week I tried it out, I used it in the car, on my couch, and even brought it to a friend’s house for her to try out. It was very easy to pack up in a bag and take with me anywhere.
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
Since the mat can be propped up on a chair, couch, or rolled open on a floor, I imagine that over time it would get dirty. The washing instructions seemed simple. You can remove the foam core of the mat and wash the cotton cover. It mentioned not to put it in the washing machine so that you avoid damaging the pressure point spikes. I hand washed the cover with soap and water and it dried nicely.
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
It’s Something I’ll Use in the Future
After using the mat for a week, I noticed that I got used to the feelings of the spikes. I even started to use it on my bare skin and found that within a minute or two, it didn’t feel as uncomfortable as it used to feel. I enjoyed the 15 or 20 minutes that I spent on the mat and would often lightly roll into the spikes to help with circulation, sore muscles, and stress relief.
I didn’t notice any instant benefits that I could attribute to the mat, but I do think the overall practice of setting time to relax and having acupressure press into my body helped me calm down more and unwind.
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
I don’t think this is something I will use daily, but I have a feeling that after a long week, this is something I’ll roll out and use often. I do think this would make the perfect holiday gift for a person in your life who doesn’t have the time or the money, to go to a spa or get acupuncture. I’m glad this mat is part of my at-home self-care routine because it does provide me with much-needed relaxation during a busy time in my life!
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