I tried this stress-reducing device. Did it calm me down?

Sweat sliding down your forehead. Clamminess blanketing your hands. Butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

Yes, we all know what stress feels like. But what if you could find out exactly just how stressed you were at any given moment?

That's the premise behind AWEAR, once dubbed a "Fitbit for your brain," that uses EEG sensors to capture all the activity going on up there. The small, rectangular wearable device curls around your ear and sends AI-powered insights to an app on your phone, detailing how often you are stressed, focused and calm. The goal is to train the brain to recover from stress faster – users will have access to their "calm" score to keep themselves in check – given how chronic stress is linked to a host of adverse health conditions like heart disease, stroke and early death.

"Our customers tell us they use AWEAR as a nudge when they are stressed or overwhelmed. Our app reminds them with a soothing vibration that it's time to take a break," says Antonio Forenza, founder and CEO of AWEAR and a tech industry veteran and entrepreneur. "Then they use the calm score (to measure) the effect of their breathing exercise on their nervous system, getting positive reinforcement from the mobile app."

Historically, I'm one of these stressed-out people. I have my general anxiety disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder to thank for that, mostly, and a bunch of other life and work stressors I'll save for my next therapy session.

I thought I'd give AWEAR a try, curious about its impact on my life compared to regular therapy and therapeutic techniques. Here's what happened.

Did this trendy new tech keep me calm?

Forenza began research and development on the device in 2023 because he noticed a gap in the wearables marketplace. Oura and WHOOP track stress via your heart rate, sure, but nothing was tracking mental wellness. Forenza has built up a team of neurology experts from Stanford University, University of California San Francisco and from his native Italy.

They wanted to create a product to continually track biomarkers in a discreet way, so you could wear it in social settings and even mid-phone call. It's currently in beta testing. Long-term, the company wants to track brain health.

I followed the instructions after receiving the technology in the mail, and charged it until I saw a green, flashing light, and connected it to my phone via Bluetooth. I used the provided body wipe and swabbed the back of my ear. I attached the adhesive and placed the sensor behind my ear and waited for it to adjust. Several tries later, and the app started tracking my brain waves.

I found myself curious about the score. I just kept staring at the app, trying to move from stressed to calm.

I. Just. Kept. Staring.

I searched "chronic stress" online, likely not helping matters. Sitting in a work meeting a bit later, I thought my score would plummet further. When I glanced down at it, my metrics had improved. Perhaps not obsessing over the score was the antidote. Distractions, and not thinking about my stress, made me less stressed.

At one point I clocked a 100 calm score (out of 100). I don't think I've ever been that calm in my life. Once it registered and I doubted it, it quickly shot down to a 92.

Overall, the first day I tried it I was stressed more than calm. Day two, more calm than stressed. I'm sure the more I wear it, as instructed, the more it would calibrate to my baseline levels. "Typically we ask our customers to wear it for 24 hours to get enough data to train/refine the (machine learning) models for their own brainwaves," Forenza says. "The initial model provides trends but is generic."

Overall, the adhesive was not conducive to my level of sweat in hot weather, and I grew frustrated when the device failed to track me. Forenza warned me the product was in beta for a reason, and I look forward to trying it out when it's ready for primetime (with a goal of avoiding looking at the score for awhile).

Could a device replace your therapist? Not exactly.

What's next for AWEAR? Forenza says the device will be even smaller, moving from a rectangle to a tiny circle. Perhaps someday, the device could even warn someone they are going to have a seizure, that they're depressed or burnt out. The company hopes to officially launch next year.

Forenza doesn't think the tech should replace a traditional therapist, but a device behind your ear giving you a heads up to take a deep breath might work as a complement.

"Imagine you have your best therapist that knows all your emotions throughout your life, knows your biomarkers, and interact with you when you want," he says.

He adds, "I think the shared experience, the shared consciousness that a therapist offers you, that's irreplaceable. And there are people that disagree with me. I know I should agree with them, because I'm in technology, but I think there is something special about human empathy that will never be replaced."

The more you talk to a therapist, the more they understand you. The same goes for AWEAR itself. My few hours likely didn't quite do the trick to know me that well – though, either way, I never want to pay that much close attention to an app about my brain again. Still, I like the idea that perhaps such a device might serve as an add-on to my therapy sessions to keep my stress levels in check.

That's something of which we could all be better "aware."

The reporter on this story received access to this product courtesy of AWEAR. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content.