8 Tech Products For Your Mental Health

1. THE NETATMO
In order to have strong mental health, you need to start with the basics. Like breathing in clean air or recognizing the noises surrounding you. The EPA states that Americans are typically inside 90 percent of the time. And often those indoor environments have 2 to 5 times the pollutants compared to outside. Pollutants include pesticides, lead, and asbestos, as we know, but also include unwanted noises, excessive humidity, or dryness, and an array of other irritants. These annoyances range on a scale from simple irritations to true health concerns. And often, home owners don’t realize the extent these hazards are in their own home. That’s where the Netatmo can help. The Netatmo tracks the changes in your environment to improve your well-being. The simple smart device tracks humidity, indoor air quality, noise levels, and air temperature. So you can be confident your surrounding space is adding and enhancing your mental health.

2. THE DODOW
In 2018, the CDC declared Sleep Disorders a public health epidemic. 50 million people reported having issues concentrating during the day. Millions more reported sleep-deprivation issues when driving and at work. We are sleeping less, working more, tend to live closer together than our most recent ancestors, but have smaller communities and human interactions than even our grandparents. All these factors add up to more worrying, insomnia, stress and restlessness. In short, we need to be able to fall asleep and stay asleep for healthy mental state. The Dodow, invented by yogis and meditation practitioners, leads the user in a medically proven pattern of breath. It’s a simple device that sits on your nightstand. Once in bed, tap the surface once or twice gently. A soft blue light will shine on your bedroom’s ceiling. Synchronize your breathing with the light’s expansion and retraction. Simply inhale and exhale. This will naturally create a rhythm of tiredness that is conducive to falling asleep. You will relax and fall smoothly into a state of zzzz's. The Dodow will turn off after eight or twenty minutes (whichever you set on the product). It’s a simple, easy solution to help you gain sleep, and stay sane.

3. BREVILLE’S TEA INFUSER
Okay, it may seem like a stretch to say a tea infuser helps your mental health. But the truth is, it does. A study from The National University of Singapore shows that regular daily consumption of tea, “can reduce the risk of cognitive decline in older persons by 50 percent.” Drinking green tea, oolong tea, or black tea at least 4 times a week helps keep the neuron pathways in your brain efficient. Research has also found tea can help with anxiety and depression, stress and fatigue. It’s nature’s way of helping our physical and mental health. And so we recommend to you, Breville’s Tea Infuser. This tea tech controls the temperature, sets your steep time and then keeps your tea at the perfect temperature until you can enjoy it the most. We love this mix of a thousand year old tradition and modern technology working for and with each other.

4. STEAMIST STEAM SHOWER
Can anyone say, “steam shower”?! Yes, steam showers can be a financial investment. But a solid warm steam can amp up your health. Dr. Mike T. Nelson, a Minnesota-based exercise physiologist, tells SELF, “Hot environments are known to increase the body’s parasympathetic tone.” Finnish studies have shown quite a bit of research regarding health benefits from humidity-filled showers. Reduced risk of cardiovascular issues is a large benefit. Traditionally, saunas “have been traditionally used to produce a feeling of relaxation. As your heart rate goes up and your blood vessels dilate, there is an increase in blood flow to the skin... The heat relaxes your muscles, including those in your face and neck.” Though saunas have a tad different heat range than steam showers, installing your own heated humidity chamber can help your mind and muscles relax. While there are many forms and products on the market, Steamist's Steam Shower is our visual favorite. The touch-screen is user friendly and sleek. You can choose your power ability, to add sound, or aromas and the steam head is linear - modern and noninvasive. Though financially at the top of our list, a Steam Shower can contribute to your peace-of-mind and overall health.

5. N.O.W.
Have you ever heard of tone therapy? It’s therapy through sound. Its calming vibrations are specifically made to relieve your stress, enhance your focus, increase your energy, and reveal new insights. An analog form of tone therapy you might have heard of is "sound baths." But now there is a digital form of the same therapy. Florida-based solu has one mission: “to promote a whole new level of wellbeing by freeing people from their nagging, problematic thoughts.” Their first hardware is the N.O.W. We’re not joking when we say, we love it! The website has a phenomenal demonstration, they provide free shipping, and they offer a risk-free 3 month trial! All you need to do is push the “on” button and listen. Within minutes you are more focused, relaxed, and are on the way to improving your mental health.

6. BELLABEAT LEAF
So how do you track your personal stress, sleep, breathe? Ideally mental health can be physically tracked with your own personal data. Never fear. Technology is here. Bellabeat Leaf is a wearable that comes in three beautiful finishes. It’s water resistant, made of vegan-friendly materials, can be worn as a bracelet, necklace, or clip, and tracks sleep stress, meditation and reproductive health. You can choose when the piece is tracking your data, and when it’s not. Simply wear it or take it off. When you sync it with the Bellabeat app, you’ll learn how well you have been sleeping, your daily steps, meditation and breathing “timeouts”, your stress levels in real-time, hormonal phase cycle tracking, and stagnant or inactive awareness. So hardware can look good and help you regulate your anxiety at the same time.

7. FOOT MASSAGER
Ladies, let’s talk about massages. Massage therapy is in fact an entire category of career-paths because it’s proven to be helpful to people’s psychology. Psychology Today writes, “Massage is widely used in all cultures to evoke feelings of deep relaxation and reduced anxiety. The anxiety-reducing and mood-enhancing benefits of massage are probably related to changes in EEG activity, decreased levels of cortisol, and increased activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, which acts automatically to calm the body and brain during stress.” Need we say more? If the cost of weekly therapy appointments add up, or you simply can’t get away, get yourself an at-home massager. Start with a Foot Massager and work your way up the skeleton. What do we like about the Shiatsu Air? It’s not boxy or strenuous to store or carry. It’s easy to comfortable and easy to clean, but also doesn’t require water (hello kids!). You are in control of the various air temperatures and techniques applied. And to be honest, it looks good! We can’t wait to spend the winter relaxing with our new Foot Massager.

8. SHIFT
All your stress and anxiety affects your whole body. You find yourself with shallow breathing, panic attacks, or high, intense energy. Wouldn’t it be nice to take a moment and breath? Actually, not just breathe, but deeply inhale and slowly exhale. The way the monks do it. Well, now, there is an easy device that trains you to Shift from shallow anxious breaths to the deep, healthy ones. What’s extra cool about this piece is it looks like a Japanese Komuso monks’ flutes, so it’s stylish too. It takes your breath from longer inhalations to longer exhalations. In fact, 10 seconds of exhale lowers your heart rate, and calms your muscles. The simple device gives you 10 seconds of meditation throughout your busy day.