I Added Pulsetto to My Evening Routine. Here’s What Happened to My Sleep

I tried Pulsetto because my evening routine was already working, and I wanted to know whether vagus nerve stimulation could take it deeper.

After using it consistently before bed for about six months, I was surprised by how much I noticed. The Sleep Program helped me feel deeply relaxed almost immediately, and over time my Oura data showed a meaningful improvement in deep sleep. I also noticed something just as important: when I woke up in the middle of the night, I could fall back asleep more easily.

For me, Pulsetto has become a simple, sustainable part of my evening wind-down: a 10-minute practice I use outside the sauna, before bed, to help my body shift into a deeper state of rest. In this article, I’ll share how Pulsetto fits into my SaunaSpace-centered routine, what changed over several months of use, and why this small device earned a permanent place in an already crowded field of sleep practices.

Table of Contents

1. Why Pulsetto Got My Attention
2. Where SaunaSpace Fits Into My Routine
3. How I Actually Use Pulsetto
4. What I Noticed
5. What My Sleep Data Showed
6. Why It Stayed in My Routine
7. Who I Think It’s For
8. Direct Answer FAQs
9. Final Takeaway
10. References

Let’s start with the real truth: I did not try Pulsetto because my sleep was a disaster. I tried it because my sleep routine was already very good, and I wanted to know whether there was still another layer I was missing.

Why Pulsetto Got My Attention

At SaunaSpace, I’m Chief Creative Officer, which means I spend a lot of time thinking about how wellness practices become real rituals in people’s lives: light, heat, sweat, recovery, sleep, repetition. Not the idea of a ritual. The actual lived thing. The practice you return to because your body recognizes it before your mind has finished making the case.

My own sleep obsession goes back decades. I started wearing an Oura Ring in 2016, when it was still a fringe Kickstarter product and sleep tracking felt like a strange private language. Since then, I have watched enough sleep data to know that one beautiful night does not mean much by itself. The body loves to humble a narrative. Patterns matter. Trends matter. Deep sleep has always been the metric I watch most closely.

Before Pulsetto, I already had a dialed-in evening routine. I avoid blue light and screen time at night. I keep my bedroom cool. I use a weighted blanket, an EMF-blocking beanie, and a sleep mask that doesn’t put pressure on my eyelids. I meditate, do breathwork, practice yoga, take an ever-evolving supplement stack, and use SaunaSpace consistently as part of my larger rhythm of heat, light, sweat, detox, and cellular activation. [1-4]

I also try to be asleep before 9:00 p.m. Yeah, I know. By evening, I do not want stimulation, novelty, or one more self-improvement assignment wearing a wellness costume. I want the room darker, the world quieter, and my body clear on the fact that the day is over.

That is why Pulsetto interested me. I was not coming to it from a chaotic baseline, hoping one device would fix everything. I already had a strong foundation, and I am not easily impressed by new wellness tools. I wanted to know whether targeted vagus nerve stimulation could add a different kind of signal from the practices I already used.

SaunaSpace gives my body a deep physical reset. Meditation and breathwork help me slow down through attention and rhythm. Pulsetto seemed to offer something else: a short, wearable, app-guided practice for the nervous-system side of rest. I was curious, but I was not expecting anything dramatic, which is exactly why the results got my attention.

Where SaunaSpace Fits Into My Routine

SaunaSpace is the foundation of my wellness routine because it works through the body, not just the mind. FireLight® uses incandescent near-infrared heat and visible red light to create a deep, biologically active sweat while supporting mitochondrial function, circulation, tissue oxygenation, and repair. [1–4]

For me,sauna is not just relaxation. It is a daily reset. It helps me feel clearer, warmer, more grounded, and more metabolically alive. It gives my body a physical signal I can feel immediately: release, circulate, activate, restore.

Pulsetto entered my routine differently. It did not replace anything SaunaSpace was doing, and it was never part of my sauna session itself. It addressed another layer: the quiet, pre-sleep shift into deeper rest.

That distinction matters. SaunaSpace is my heat-and-light ritual. Pulsetto is my targeted vagus nerve support ritual. I use them separately. If I use both on the same day, my sequence is simple: SaunaSpace first thing in the morning, then cooling and hydration, and much later, Pulsetto as part of my evening wind-down.

How I Actually Use Pulsetto

I use Pulsetto before bed, outside the sauna, as part of my evening routine. My go-to is the Sleep Program for 10 minutes at intensity level 7, which feels right for me after months of use.

That is my personal setting, not a starting recommendation. Pulsetto recommends beginning at the lowest intensity and adjusting as needed so the sensation feels like mild tingling. Everyone’s body is different, and this is not a “more is better” device. The goal is not intensity. The goal is a clean, repeatable signal. [5]

What makes Pulsetto sustainable is how little it asks of me. I do not have to rearrange my life, change clothes, set up a major ritual, or add one more delicate step to an evening routine that already has enough moving parts. I put it on before bed, choose the Sleep Program, and let the device run for 10 minutes.

Over time, my body started to want it. That is probably the most honest thing I can say. It became one of those rare wellness practices that feels immediate enough to be rewarding and cumulative enough to be worth repeating.

What I Noticed

The first thing I noticed was how relaxed I felt after using it. Not “I completed a wellness task” relaxed. Actually relaxed. There was a softening in my body that felt different from deciding to wind down. It felt physical, as if my system had received a clear message: the day is over now.

That immediate response surprised me, but what surprised me more was what happened next. I started noticing changes in my sleep data, especially deep sleep. I am careful about overinterpreting one or two nights because sleep is affected by everything: hormones, stress, temperature, food, travel, exercise, timing, and the general carnival of being alive. This was not one lucky night. The pattern kept showing up.

What My Sleep Data Showed

The biggest change happened over the first month. Before Pulsetto, my deep sleep had been averaging around 50 minutes, which was not terrible, but it was not where I wanted it to be. After I began using Pulsetto consistently before bed, my Oura Ring started showing closer to 90 minutes of deep sleep, with some nights reaching up to two hours. [6,7]

That got my attention because deep sleep has always been one of the hardest metrics for me to move meaningfully. I was not looking for a pretty graph. I was looking for a pattern strong enough to survive my skepticism.

I also noticed something that mattered just as much: if I woke up in the middle of the night, I could fall back asleep more easily. That may sound less dramatic than a deep sleep number, but anyone who has dealt with 3 a.m. wakeups knows the difference. There is waking up, turning over, and drifting back down. And then there is waking up and becoming suddenly available to every unresolved thought in your life.

Over the first month, the benefits seemed to build. Then they stabilized at a much better baseline. After about six months, Pulsetto is not something I am “testing” anymore. It is part of my routine.

I also cared about the subjective side. Did I feel more settled after using it? Yes. Did I look forward to it? Yes. Did it make my routine more complicated? Not really. Did everything about my sleep become magically perfect? No. I still have the occasional weird night because, well, I’m a spiritual being having a human experience — and life can be messy.

But the overall pattern was strong: deeper relaxation before bed, better deep sleep data, easier middle-of-the-night recovery, and a routine that felt good enough to continue.

Why It Stayed in My Routine

The real test of any wellness practice is not whether it sounds good in theory. Many things sound good in theory. Many things are also too annoying to do every day.

Pulsetto stayed because it passed the only test that matters: I actually wanted to keep using it. It was easy, it felt good, and my data gave me a reason to take it seriously.

It also gave me something different from the practices I already had. SaunaSpace, yoga, meditation, breathwork, supplements, darkness, cool air, and early bedtime were all already part of my rhythm. Pulsetto added a more targeted nervous-system input, one that did not depend on my effort in quite the same way.

That is especially valuable at night. By bedtime, I do not want another project. I want my body to know it is safe to sleep. For me, Pulsetto became that signal.

Who I Think It’s For

I think Pulsetto is especially interesting for people who already have a strong wellness foundation but still feel like their nervous system could use a more direct cue at night.

If you are already using SaunaSpace, you understand the power of physical signals. Heat is a signal. Light is a signal. Sweat is a signal. Breath is a signal. Pulsetto adds another: vagus nerve stimulation as a short, separate practice before bed.

I would be especially curious about it if you track your sleep, wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back asleep, feel physically tired but still “on” at bedtime, already have a strong sauna, breathwork, or meditation routine, or prefer tools that are simple enough to use consistently.

The important thing is not to turn it into a magic device. SaunaSpace remains my foundational heat-and-light practice. Pulsetto is my evening nervous-system support. Together, they fit beautifully, but they stay separate.

Direct Answer FAQs

Can you use Pulsetto and a sauna on the same day? 
Yes. They can fit into the same day as separate practices. I use SaunaSpace and Pulsetto separately, not at the same time.

Should Pulsetto be used before or after a sauna? 
I would use Pulsetto after sauna, not before, and only after cooling down, rehydrating, and returning to a comfortable temperature. If you sauna earlier in the day, the sequence is simple: sauna when you normally sauna, then use Pulsetto later as part of your bedtime routine.

Can Pulsetto be used inside a sauna? 
No. Pulsetto should not be used inside a sauna. Use Pulsetto outside the sauna only, once you are cooled down, dry, and comfortable. Do not use it on wet skin, and always follow Pulsetto’s official device guidance. [5]

How long should you cool down after a sauna before using Pulsetto? 
Wait until you are no longer sweating, your skin is dry, and your body temperature feels fully comfortable. After sauna, cool down, hydrate, and give the body time to settle before starting any device-based relaxation practice.

How does vagus nerve stimulation differ from heat therapy? 
Heat therapy works through temperature, circulation, sweat, tissue warming, and whole-body thermal response. SaunaSpace adds visible red and near-infrared light, which supports the cellular side of the ritual.

Vagus nerve stimulation works differently. Pulsetto is worn at the neck and is designed to stimulate the vagus nerve through the skin as a short, app-guided relaxation practice. I think of SaunaSpace as heat-and-light activation and Pulsetto as nervous-system downshifting.

How can you tell whether a relaxation routine is working? 
I look for both subjective and objective signals. Subjectively, I want to feel more settled and more able to fall asleep or return to sleep after waking. Objectively, I look at my Oura Ring trends over weeks, not one-night spikes. For me, the most meaningful changes were deeper sleep and an easier time returning to sleep in the middle of the night. [6,7]

Final Takeaway

Pulsetto surprised me because I did not expect it to become indispensable. I already had a strong wellness foundation. I use SaunaSpace. I do yoga. I meditate. I do breathwork. I take supplements. I protect my evening. I track everything. I am not an easy person to impress when it comes to sleep.

After about six months of consistent use, Pulsetto earned its place in my evening routine. It feels good immediately, it is easy to use, and my Oura data gave me a reason to keep paying attention.

For SaunaSpace customers, I see Pulsetto as a natural addition to a broader restoration ritual. FireLight® gives the body heat, light, sweat, circulation, and cellular activation. Pulsetto gives the nervous system a short, targeted bedtime signal.

Use them separately. Use them consistently. Pay attention to your own data.

And let your body tell you what is actually working.

Explore Pulsetto as one possible addition to your SaunaSpace-centered relaxation routine.

References

[1] SaunaSpace. “What is the spectrum emission and irradiance of your FireLight® Infrared Bulbs?” SaunaSpace Help Center. Accessed August 25, 2026. Supports: FireLight® spectrum, visible red and near-infrared output, irradiance in the photobiomodulation band, and light-plus-heat positioning.

[2] Hamblin MR. “Mechanisms and Mitochondrial Redox Signaling in Photobiomodulation.” Photochemistry and Photobiology. 2018;94(2):199–212. doi:10.1111/php.12864. Supports: photobiomodulation, mitochondrial signaling, cellular energy, tissue repair, and cellular-response language.

[3] Quirk BJ, Whelan HT. “What Lies at the Heart of Photobiomodulation: Light, Cytochrome C Oxidase, and Nitric Oxide—Review of the Evidence.” Photobiomodulation, Photomedicine, and Laser Surgery. 2020;38(9):527–530. doi:10.1089/photob.2020.4905. Supports: photobiomodulation mechanisms, cytochrome c oxidase, nitric oxide, circulation, and oxygenation-related language.

[4] Laukkanen JA, Laukkanen T, Kunutsor SK. “Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2018;93(8):1111–1121. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2018.04.008. Supports: sauna bathing, thermal stress, cardiovascular effects, circulation, relaxation, and broader sauna-health context. 

[5] Pulsetto. “Quick Start Guide” and device safety guidance. Pulsetto. Accessed August 25, 2026. Supports: app-guided use, starting gently, mild tingling sensation, use outside the sauna, and avoiding use on wet skin.

[6] Bromberg H. “Personal Oura Ring Sleep Data Case Note: Pulsetto Sleep Program and Deep Sleep Trends.” Unpublished internal case study; personal Oura Ring data from 2016–2026, with Pulsetto use tracked over approximately six months. Data on file with Hilary Bromberg and SaunaSpace. Supports: first-person Oura trend data, including deep sleep increase from approximately 50 minutes to approximately 90 minutes, with some nights up to two hours.

[7] Svensson T, Madhawa K, Hoang NT, Chung U-I, Kishi Svensson A. “Validity and Reliability of the Oura Ring Generation 3 with Oura Sleep Staging Algorithm 2.0 When Compared to Multi-Night Ambulatory Polysomnography: A Validation Study of 96 Participants and 421,045 Epochs.” Sleep Medicine. 2024;115:251–263. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2024.01.020. Supports: Oura Ring sleep-stage validation context.