By Marlene Ridgway
If your sights are set on living a healthier lifestyle, boosting your mood, or reaching new fitness milestones, then consider adding some technology to the mix. These high-tech health gadgets, from analytics to recovery, could be the addition to your routine that will make your ambitions a reality.
Hack Your Metabolism With Lumen
This metabolism tracker evaluates your diet and exercises on a highly individualized level. The device fits right in the palm of your hand, but is capable of providing accurate metabolic testing that previously wasn’t readily available outside of hospitals. Lumen concisely explains what your body needs throughout the day.
“Lumen uses patented algorithms, CO2 sensors, flow meters, barometric pressure, and temperature sensing technology to determine the carbon dioxide concentration in a single breath. This concentration indicates the type of fuel your body is using for energy,” says Dr. Michal Mor, chief of product and science at Lumen.
The technology behind Lumen essentially teaches your body how to better use the fuel it has. The personal results are what make this product so unique. “By understanding how your body is reacting to what you eat and do throughout the day, whether in carb or fat burn, you can understand how to fuel your day if you’re working out later or if you need a low-carb day and you are mostly sitting in the office,” says Mor. This device allows you to prepare and stay at peak performance throughout your busy schedule.
This device may not seem like a complicated piece of equipment, but the science behind it can help your body recover and relax on a cellular level. Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) therapy is a way to influence your cells, whether they need a recharge or need to be activated before a long day or difficult workout. This patent-pending technology emits frequencies that can reach your cells and help your body recover faster and train your body to work smarter, which means better relaxation, and an overall sense of wellness.
The technology that makes HAELO unique is that it can emit several different frequencies at once. This is compared to other therapies that only send one at a time. In addition, HAELO’s comfortable design can be held, can target a specific area of your body, or simply be near you to experience the benefits. The device produces a six-foot field from the center, which can read your cells from head to toe and jumpstart recovery. $3,297
WHOOP is a Wearable Fitness Tracker and Health Coach
This wearable device is constantly working and gathering data to keep you at your best. “Every day when you wake up, WHOOP calculates a Recovery score. That score lets you know if your body is ready to perform, needs an active recovery day, or requires rest,” explains a WHOOP representative. The health tracker determines the score based on physiological metrics, such as heart-rate variability, resting heart rate, sleep, and your respiratory rate, and can help you better plan your day from start to finish.
However, the magic doesn’t stop there. WHOOP functions throughout the day, collecting data and calculating your strain, such as how much anxiety, travel, and overall stress you are experiencing. “Every night, WHOOP calculates your sleep performance by measuring the sleep you got compared to the sleep your body needs,” explains a WHOOP representative. “The following night, Sleep Coach will provide personalized sleep and wake times based on your daily effort and performance from the night prior.” The device can also send soft vibrations at just the precise time to wake you up as well and leave you feeling rested.
$399 for 12-month membership
Bellabeat is a Women-focused Wellness Brand
Bellabeat was engineered by women for women. “My co-founder and I started the company in 2014,” says Urska Srsen, the co-founder of Bellabeat, “and what we saw was a flood of products developed with the male user in mind and we saw that as a great opportunity.” IVY and the Leaf Chakra health trackers, for example, have similar technology to other wearable trackers, but the application, data processing algorithms, and product appearance are specifically engineered for women’s health and lifestyle.“
We decided to create a brand that develops tech-driven products with a focus on the female user,” says Srsen. These are stylish devices that monitor your heart rate, respiratory rate, cardiac coherence, and physical and mental activity. The device is lightweight and made of quality materials, but it also doesn’t have a screen. The tracker is meant to be worn and forgotten, without distractions and constant interruptions. Ever since the early stages of Bellabeat, the team has worked to bring about innovative products that don’t necessarily fit the mold. “We now have a whole ecosystem of connected products and digital experiences created to help women track and improve their physical and mental health,” explains Srsen.
IVY $249 / Leaf Chakra $89