After a long day spent staring at various screens—whether it’s a computer screen for work or my phone to unwind afterward—my eyes are pleading for some relief. I also frequently experience headaches and migraines, and while I’m not convinced that my screen time is the sole cause, I’m sure it doesn’t help.
It’s no surprise that devices like eye massagers—those that strap to your face and gently massage, vibrate, and warm the area around your eyes—are so appealing for alleviating these modern-day symptoms.
The hashtag #eyemassagers alone has garnered over 95 million views on TikTok as of this writing.
There are plenty of eye massagers on the market, but Therabody—the brand behind two of our favorite massage guns—has one of the most popular models. Their $200 SmartGoggles claim to ease eye strain, relieve headaches, and “promote restful sleep.” I’ve tried almost every method to ease my migraines, so I was skeptical, but hopeful.
I wore the goggles for 15-minute sessions during the day and before bed, about four to five times a week, for a couple of weeks to see if they could truly alleviate eye strain or prevent a headache from escalating.
How They Work The goggles are 8 by 4 inches in size and feature a heather-gray fabric exterior with soft vinyl on the inside, plus an adjustable elastic band that fits around your head.
You can use the Therabody app to customize your massage sessions, view heart rate insights, and explore other guided routines. While the goggles can be used without the app, I found it convenient to use the app to set up a session rather than fumbling with the buttons on top of the goggles.
The buttons toggle between three preset modes: SmartRelax, Focus, and Sleep. Each mode defaults to a 15-minute session, but you can adjust the duration through the app.
At the end of each session, your (lowered) heart rate is displayed in the app, which always made me feel like I had succeeded in relaxing.
SmartRelax mode uses Therabody’s proprietary SmartSense technology, which employs a sensor on your cheekbone to measure your heart rate and adjusts the pulsing vibration pattern to tailor the session to your heart rate. In my experience, SmartRelax felt a bit gimmicky. I struggled to notice any changes, and I found it more relaxing to manually adjust the goggles to my preferred settings instead.
Sleep mode defaults to low vibration and no heat, while Focus mode defaults to a wave vibration with medium heat. You can adjust both the vibration and heat settings using the buttons on the left-hand side. The vibration button toggles between four patterns (low, high, wave, pulse), and the heat button toggles between three heat levels (low, medium, high).
In all modes, I ended up turning the vibration completely off and simply using the always-on kneading massage with varying heat settings.
The app also offers several other modes paired with different audio options, like light rain sounds, instrumental music, guided meditations, or white noise. At the end of each session, you can check your (lowered) heart rate in the app, which always made me feel like I had really achieved relaxation.
