Embr Wave 2 review: does it work for hot flashes?

Name: Embr Wave 2 review: does it work for hot flashes?
Creator: MenoWoman

Small studies suggest the Embr Wave can make hot flashes feel less disruptive and may help some women sleep better, but none compared it with a sham device. Most studies are small pilots or conference reports linked to the brand's research partners.

Researched by the MenoWoman team. Edited by Marcela Sat. Updated 7 November 2026. We may earn from links.

See a doctor if hot flashes are severe, start after age 60, or come with fever, weight loss or a racing heart, as these can have other causes. If you have had breast cancer, talk to your cancer team about hot flash options.

What it is and what the brand claims

The Embr Wave 2 is a bracelet-style device worn on the inside of the wrist. It sends waves of cooling or warming to the skin when you press a button or start a session in its app.⁴

The brand markets it for hot flashes (hot flushes) and sleep. Its hot flash page says the Wave is clinically shown to be a safe and effective way to manage hot flashes. It claims over twice the improvement in hot flash control and 28% less time to fall asleep.⁶ Those claims point to one small exploratory study, described below.^6,2 The brand pages cited here do not claim FDA clearance or medical device status, and list no warnings.^4,6 This is an evidence review, not a hands-on test.

How it works

The Wave does not lower your core body temperature. The idea is that cooling a small patch of skin on the wrist changes how hot you feel. A lab study run with UC Berkeley found that wrist cooling shifted how warm people felt within three minutes, in 49 adults.¹

A hot flash starts in the brain's temperature control center as estrogen falls. The Wave may change how a flash feels, but it does not alter that trigger.

The device works through sessions you choose. A cooling session may help in the moment, such as when a flash starts at work or wakes you at night. The brand also markets warming for when you feel cold, and its app offers sleep-focused sessions such as one for falling asleep.⁴ Because you control it, it may also give a sense of control over symptoms, which some women value in itself.²

What the research shows

The strongest published study in menopause is a 2019 trial in 39 women aged 45 to 58 with hot flashes and insomnia. Each woman had two weeks with the device and two weeks without, in random order.² With the device, women fell asleep faster and had better insomnia scores. Fewer said hot flashes disrupted their sleep: 70%, compared with 90% at baseline.² The paper reports no conflicts of interest, but the brand's own page says the study was run with Johnson & Johnson.^2,6 So its industry links are not fully clear. The authors called it an exploratory study.⁶

Other menopause data are weaker.¹

A study of 31 women found nighttime hot flashes fell from about 15 to 12 per week over two weeks. It was presented at a conference, not published in a journal.
A study of 10 women with frequent hot flashes found better quality-of-life scores. It was also a conference presentation.
A randomized crossover pilot in 25 women after breast cancer reported fewer hot flashes and less interference.

That breast cancer trial was sponsored by The Ohio State University, which lists 50 planned participants and a completed status.³ We did not find full results in a journal. Another study found that hot flashes could be predicted from skin signals before they began; it was co-run by Embr Labs and did not test symptom relief.¹

Embr's research page names the universities involved but does not say who paid for each study.¹ None used a sham device, and women always knew when the device was on. That makes it hard to separate a real effect from expectation.

The Menopause Society's 2023 statement on non-hormone treatments does not recommend cooling techniques for hot flashes.⁷

Safety and who should avoid it

No serious side effects are reported on the brand's research page.¹ People with reduced skin feeling, such as from diabetic nerve damage, or with Raynaud's, may want to check with a doctor first. If you have a pacemaker or other implanted device, ask your doctor before using any wearable electronic device.

The Wave is not a treatment for any medical condition. If you are using it for hot flashes after cancer, keep your cancer team informed, as some causes of flashes need a review of your medicines.

Who it might suit and alternatives

The Wave may suit someone with mild to moderate hot flashes who wants a drug-free tool to feel more in control. It may also interest women who cannot use hormone therapy, though the evidence after breast cancer is still early.^1,3

For frequent or severe hot flashes, hormone therapy (HRT), non-hormonal prescription medicines and CBT have much stronger evidence. You can also try breathing exercises. Bed-based cooling, such as the Eight Sleep Pod, also relies mainly on brand-run data.⁵ See more options on our sleep and cooling products page.

Price and value

The Wave is a one-off device purchase. The brand also offers a rental option and says it accepts HSA and FSA funds in the US.⁴ Stock has varied by country, so check availability and the current price on the brand's site.

What it is used for: evidence rated

Option	Evidence	What the research shows
Sleep disrupted by hot flashes	Weak evidence	One peer-reviewed randomized crossover trial in 39 women found faster sleep onset and better insomnia scores, but there was no sham device.²
Fewer or milder hot flashes	Weak evidence	Small pilots, mostly conference reports, show modest drops; none were sham-controlled.¹
Feeling cooler or more comfortable	Weak evidence	A lab study in 49 adults, reported on the brand research page and run with a university partner, found wrist cooling quickly changed how warm people felt; not done in menopause.¹
Hot flashes after breast cancer	Weak evidence	A university-sponsored pilot reported fewer hot flashes; full journal results were not found.^1,3
Treating the cause of hot flashes	No evidence	The device changes how warm you feel; it does not alter the hormone-driven trigger.

Ratings explained: how we rate. Always talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting a medicine or supplement.