For most of us keeping score at home, the 2020s have rushed by a blur: it’s almost hard to believe it’s 2023. In fits and starts, consumer spending has crept back up in areas relating more to “doing things” than staying home and binging shows or playing video games. The massive success of the Apple Watch and other related products reflects a growing instinct to track our own activity and health data more accurately, as we’ve seen the wearables market grow by leaps and bounds in recent years. With things slowly moving back to something resembling normal, there’s never been a better time to double down on investing in our own health and wellness. We’ve gathered together some of the more intriguing consumer gear to help you do just that.
Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition Smartwatch
Fossil is known for making watches that are easy on the eyes, but the company’s Gen 6 Wellness Edition Smartwatch does a whole lot more. The device is capable of continuous heart rate monitoring, VO2 Max, and SpO2 (oxygen saturation). It also tracks both workouts and sleep automatically, providing a visual graph of the latter as well as daily, weekly, and monthly averages. Google’s new software brings an easier-to-navigate interface, with improved health tracking, enabled by Fossil’s own Wellness app. There’s even a device-exclusive “Wellness Gauge” to monitor your vitals. Oh, and it is also a looker: The stainless steel case features clean, rounded edges with minimal bezels, and a three-button layout with a fantastically smooth center rotating crown.
Oura Ring Gen3
While wrists have generally been the most popular home for wearables in recent years, the almighty finger wields a lot of power as well. Leading the charge is Oura: The third-generation model is the same size and weight as its predecessor, but packs 32 times the amount of memory and three times as much circuitry. The ring houses small sensors to help track your activity, physical and mental health, and sleep, which are then accessible via the Oura app. It does around-the-clock heart rate and temperature monitoring, and can even predict your next period. It comes in four finishes: black, gold, silver, and matte black.
Mativ Smart Mat
This ain’t your standard yoga mat: Infused with 40,000 sensors, the Mativ Smart Mat can distinguish between nearly 300 movements, and monitor your workout performance in real-time. The details of these movements are then analyzed, helping to identify the appropriate support needed for each of your sessions, communicated via an accompanying smartphone app. It also pairs with the company’s smartband for even more accuracy, measuring your arm motion as well as your footwork.
Apollo Neuro
This wearable device is designed to train your body to manage stress, naturally. Essentially, it works by vibrating against your skin, as a form of touch therapy; the device connects to the Apollo Neuro app on your phone, and vibration sessions range from five minutes to two hours. The Neuro aims to optimize your heart rate variability (HRV), or the variation in length of time between heartbeats. A high HRV is said to indicate that your nervous system is good at adapting to change and dealing with stress, while a low HRV (less time between beats) can indicate an overactive nervous system, and may come along with anxiety and depression. The Neuro’s ultimate goal is to improve your HRV with vibration, and to bring about better sleep quality and improved focus.
Sleep.me’s Dock Pro
Sleep.me’s Dock Pro is meant to address one of modernity’s true losses: namely, the number of hours of restful sleep we’re all getting. The Dock Pro is made up of three primary components: a pump mechanism (which rests on the floor or bedside table), a mattress cover that goes on your existing mattress, and a hose that connects the two. The Dock Pro’s primary function is temperature control, and it can adjust its temperature via tubes inside the cover, controlled either via buttons on the device or via the app. What’s even cooler (or…warmer?) is the way the device can wake you up. During sleep, your body temperature drops by a couple of degrees, and then warms again when you start to wake up. The Dock Pro can wake you by gently warming your body when it’s time to wake up, rather than vibrating or playing loud alarm sounds — it’s a much more elegant, less jarring way of waking up. Finally, because there are no electrical components inside the mattress cover (only tubing), it’s even machine washable.
Kokoon Nightbuds
Another way to improve sleep is to manage the interruptions from noise while you snooze. Enter Kokoon’s Nightbuds: at 5.4mm thin, they fit snugly in your ear, thanks to a variety of ear tip sizes. Choosing from a library of calming content to get you to sleep — soundscapes, audio books, and the like — the Nightbuds fade this audio out after detecting that you’ve fallen asleep, and transition over to your choice of pink, white, or brown noise. The device then tracks your sleep, and collates that data in the app for further analysis. You can even program the device to wake you up, too, making it a great slumber companion from start to finish.
Bello2
More than half of American adults suffer from chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, in which body fat plays a significant role. Olive Healthcare’s Bello2 works by scanning your body for essential information, including fat and metabolic levels, as well as body mass index (BMI). It takes real-time tissue measurements using LED NIR wavelengths, used to calculate things like oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, lipids, and water by looking at tissue absorption. This lets the device analyze body composition as accurately as possible. It then uploads all of your vital measurements via the Bello app, and lets you track changes over time. Its automated BMR calculation is even compatible with Apple Health and Google Health, among others.
Mode Electric Toothbrush
Sometimes it’s the little things. Sure, Mode’s Electric Toothbrush is powerful, quietly operating at 38,000 brush strokes per minute, and turning off after two minutes (the recommended amount of time you brush your teeth twice daily, per the American Dental Association). But the real trick up its sleeve is its charging mechanism: Eschewing the unwieldy power cables of other electric toothbrushes, the Mode’s charging dock plugs directly into a power outlet, and the toothbrush attaches to it magnetically. The charger even rotates so that you can dock your brush vertically or horizontally. For those with limited bathroom counter space, it’s the perfect incentive to keep on top of those pearly whites.
