Some might argue that we don’t need wellness devices, we just need to get out and move. You have to admit that they are right. But, digital wellness technology is booming and personal health insights, exercises, meditations, as well as home gyms, are all now accessible to everyone with just a swipe. Peloton (onepeloton.co.uk) is one such brand. It allows you to workout with thousands of people all around the world in your living room. While gadgets such as the Oura Ring (ouraring.com) can monitor our fitness levels, our menstruation cycles and help us meditate – all from a tracker set within a simple 7mm ring worn on your finger. These are not the latest advancements in health tech. Here are some of my current favourites…
Personal trainer for your mirror
Vaha looks like a full-length mirror when it is turned off. But, when you turn it on, it becomes an interactive digital screen that offers a virtual workout with your personal trainer. A variety of top personal trainers are available who will guide you through dances, HIIT and yoga as well meditation. It offers more than 700 live workouts and on-demand training. From £70 a month, uk.vaha.com.
You can lose weight with the breathalyser
Our body’s metabolism is in charge of turning what we eat into energy, so it makes sense to have an efficient one. Enter Lumen, a breathalyser-like device that aims to better our metabolisms by measuring the CO2 in our breath – this indicates whether the body is getting energy from fat stores, the carbs we’ve just eaten or both. The device is linked to an app which then recommends a nutrition plan based on our body’s actual needs. The goal is to improve the body’s ability to move between burning carbs or fat – which helps increase weight loss and energy. From £249, lumen.me.
The pebble that makes you breathe properly
The pebble that makes you breathe properly While breathing is automatic, doing it correctly isn’t – too often we breathe up in our chest rather than down to our stomachs and in a short, staccato form. The Melo is a pebble-sized device that helps us breathe properly – and thus reduce anxiety and stress and aid sleep. It has its own charging dish, fits in your palm and has a choice of breathing patterns to follow that appear as lights on its surface – breathe in as they flick on and out as they fade. Simple and surprisingly effective – it will both calm you and give your mind something to focus on. £59.99, amazon.co.uk.
The smartest watch… ever
Check out the Apple Watch latest updates for a complete world of wellbeing in a single stamp-sized gadget. Synch it to Apple Fitness + – where you can choose from a guided meditation to workouts with top trainers – and also record all your stats, including calories burnt, distance and time. If you’re stressed, its new Reflect feature will help you centre yourself. Apple Watch 7 has water resistance up to 50m. This is great news for keen swimmers. What’s more, Apple has made the watch’s visuals bigger, more readable and clumsy-finger-friendly. From £369, apple.com.
@susannahtaylor_