These monkeys seem to have found their zen. Could specially designed technology help humans reach a similar state of bliss? Source: Flickr user Mika on a Creative Commons license.
Technology is often associated with causing people stress. After all, we live in an era where 66% of Brits own a smartphone. The average user touches their device over 2500 times a day. Constant anticipation of notifications from email and social media can cause the calmest people to feel slightly under siege.
However, technology can also play an important role in alleviating anxiety. Resources have been created using digital media which can help us to relax in unexpected ways. Here are some of the most intriguing recipes for computerised calm:
Sleep Improvement Technology
Source: Flickr user Maxi Walton on a Creative Commons license.
Sleep quality is understood to have significant implications for our mood, health and decision making skills. Waking up during our deepest stage of sleep, REM (rapid eye movement), can cause us to become particularly irritable and worsen our self image.
A solution to this is the Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock, available for Android and iOS smartphones.
Here is the app’s logo.
A thirty minute window is selected for waking up, and the user is woken during their lightest stage of sleep. This is achieved through tracking of sleep movement with the microphone or accelerometer.
The app graphs which allow users to track sleep quality. Source: Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock website
Google Play users have rated the app 4.5/5, with comments including “never felt [so] rested” and “helping me.. improve my quality of life”.
Another piece of sleep enhancing technology is the Lumia Bodyclock.
It aims to offer a more gradual, natural feeling method of waking up to an alarm. This is achieved by using a light which mimics sunrise by gradually growing brighter, as well as a gentle alarm sound. Here is a user reviewing the product:
Soothing Music
According to psychological research, the solution for relieving stress and achieving a positive mood can be as simple as listening to music. Fortunately, the internet is an almost endless source of soundtracks.
Over 10 hours of music is uploaded onto Soundcloud every minute, whilst Spotify alone offers over 30 million songs.
Here are a collection of tracks specifically designed to help people unwind, produced by German artist Michael Fesser under the name ‘relaxdaily’:
Discover more from relaxdaily’s Twitter profile here:
Stress Monitoring Wearables
These wearable gadgets propose unconventional methods of helping people to unwind. Their purpose is to digitally monitor and alter stress levels. Click on the images to discover more:
Thync is a strip placed on the head and neck which uses electronic pulses to stimulate nerves and affect mood. This is controlled by an app available on iOS and Android. Users can select the sort of emotion want to feel (high energy settings such as ‘awake’ or calm settings such as ‘bliss’) .
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