As the world continues to work its way through the pandemic, never before have we been as focused on health and wellness. At-home healthcare technology is trending steeply upwards, as people work to stay proactive, and get ahead of any illnesses.
Related: Notoriously cycling savvy: How celebrities roll
It’s challenging to see a doctor these days. So many are deciding to monitor their own health at home. And there is a wealth of technology on the market that helps you accomplish just that. Here are five of our favourites, to help you keep tabs on your overall health:
Withings BPM Connect Smart Blood Pressure Monitor
If you usually head to the little machine at the drug store to check your blood pressure, there’s a better way. Withings has a home-use Blood Pressure Monitor that connects to an app to take your readings and provide medically accurate results on your systolic and diastolic blood pressure – which in turn you can share with your doctor if necessary.
Interestingly, Withings suggests that taking your blood pressure at home with its BPM Connect will also help avoid “white-coat syndrome” where your readings may come out higher because you’re stressed about visiting the doctor and getting the result.
Vitastiq Vitamin Tracker
Concerned about your overall health, but don’t want to head to a doctor every time to get checked out? Vitastiq is a small pen-like healthcare technology gadget that can detect vitamin levels in your body through the skin.
To measure your levels of vitamins and minerals, you touch the tip of the pen to your skin near your fingernails. The device uses something called electro-acupuncture methodology (EAV). That detects electrical resistance inside some of the body’s acupuncture points which may change if a vitamin imbalance is present.
Vitastiq detects vitamin levels and trends over time. It will let you know if you’re deficient in anything from Vitamin A to Zinc and dozens of vitamins and minerals in between.
You can read a full review and the results compared against blood tests here.
Apple Watch 5
Apple’s newest Watch, Series 5 tracks your runs, counts your steps and guides you through workouts. But it provides you with vital health-related data, such as the EKG that monitors your heart rate.
Not a runner or hardcore athlete? Apple Watch can also help you improve overall wellness and stress levels. Apple Watch’s Breathe app nudges you throughout the day and reminds you to take some deep breaths and clear your head. Turn it on, and follow the steps for a short, medium or longer duration relaxation break. All of this information comes right from your wrist, which you can accessorize as you wish with a stylish apple watch strap from a website like Mobile Mob.
Muse Brain Sensing Headband
The Muse headband helps you relax by taking you through guided meditation session while you wear the special Muse headband, which senses your brain activity. From a 3 minute meditation to 45, Muse will talk you through relaxed breathing exercises. The healthcare technology device will then display the results of your brain activity over the course of the session. The information can also be stored so you can watch your progress and trends over time.
Fitbit Aria Air Smart Scale
Check your weight, BMI, muscle mass and body fat percentage, information that’s also transferred to your Fitbit watch, using this smart connected scale. Naturally it also syncs with a Fitbit fitness tracker for a snapshot of your overall health.
Erin Lawrence is a communications professional and freelance writer and content provider.
You’ll often find her writing about technology, consumer gadgets and home theatre for sites like Best Buy and TechGadgetsCanada.com .
