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The best health and fitness gadgets

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With everything going on in the world these days, you may prefer to stay curled up on the sofa with some popcorn and a good movie, but we all know that can be detrimental to both physical and mental health. Sometimes, you need a reminder that it’s time to create healthy new habits and get active, and fortunately for couch potatoes, technology can help. These health gadgets can help you get moving, get inspired, and stay healthy — or warn you if something’s amiss.

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Close up shot of a woman wearing the Fitbit Sense on her wrist

Fitbit Sense

The latest and now-flagship offering from tracking giant Fitbit offers more fitness, health, and wellness features than previous fitness trackers. With a blood oxygen sensor, skin temperature reader, stress measurement metrics, and ECG readings, your Fitbit Sense could alert you to significant changes in health before you even realize they’re happening. Oh, and it also counts your steps, tracks your sleeping habits, and sports a female health tracking feature, too.

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Middle-age man wearing the QardioArm <a href=Blood Pressure Monitor" width="720" height="480" />
Qardio / Qardio

QardioArm Blood Pressure Monitor

The QardioArm Blood Pressure Monitor allows you to track your blood pressure quickly and wirelessly. With a downloadable app that tracks readings over time, it’s an amazingly convenient tool for people who need to keep a close eye on their blood pressure. Just wrap it around your arm, let it take a reading, and the data goes right to your phone. The slim, compact package is discrete, too, meaning folks who don’t want to make a big production out of taking readings won’t have to. Plus, there’s no giant balloon or trailing tubes to worry about.

Moreover, Qardio integrates with a variety of health-based apps, including Apple Health and Google Fit. Combine that with regular reminders, charts, and the ability to send the data to your doctor if needed, and you’ve got a pretty handy health gadget directly at your fingertips.

Young woman wearing the Muse 2 headband in bed

Muse 2 Headband

This gadget tracks your brain activity, and before you swipe past it thinking, “Yeah, right,” hear us out. The Muse 2 is an “immersive meditation device that provides real-time feedback on your mental well being,” at least according to Muse. You’re supposed to wear the headband during guided relaxation sessions and when connected to the companion app, which records your brain activity while you listen to soothing meditations. While it all sounds a bit woo-woo, plenty of users say it has helped them relax. If you’ve ever wondered about meditation but not really understood what to do or how it’s supposed to help, the Muse 2 is a good place to start.

Hand holding the Atmotube Pro portable air quality monitor

Atmotube Pro Air Quality Monitor

The Atmotube is a small, phone-sized, portable air monitor that can be clipped to a bag or belt. The device can let you know about particles in the air or potential air quality concerns. It also contains a weather station that registers temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure from the surrounding area, so you have a powerful tool, particularly for folks who suffer from respiratory concerns. The companion app even lets you track air quality exposure over time.

Woman sitting on couch using a Vitastiq 2
Vitastiq

Vitastiq 2 vitamin tracker

Concerned about your overall health, but don’t want to head to a doctor every time you want some info? The Vitastiq 2 is a small, pen-like gadget that can detect vitamin levels in your body through your skin.

To measure each of the 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), which painlessly 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 and can let you know if you’re deficient in anything from vitamin A to zinc and dozens of vitamins and minerals in between.

Close up of a man showing off the Apple Watch Series 6 on his wrist
Apple

Apple Watch Series 6

Sure, you get guided workouts and step tracking — plus all the fun stuff — but as we’re all doing a bit of do-it-yourself (DIY) doctoring at home, having heart rate tracking, EKG readings, fall detection, and heart rate monitoring on Apple’s newest watch, the Series 6, can be helpful.

Not a runner or hardcore athlete? The Apple Watch Series 6 will also help you improve both wellness and stress. The Breathe app, for example, can nudge you throughout the day and remind you to take some deep breaths and clear your head. Just turn it on and follow the steps for a short, medium, or long relaxation break.

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Fitbit Aria Air 2 smart scale

Get your weigh-ins, BMI, muscle mass and body fat percentage, and a host of other pertinent info, right on the display or straight to your wrist using this smart, connected scale. Naturally, the Fitbit Aria Air 2 also syncs with a Fitbit fitness tracker, providing an overall snapshot of your health. Needless to say, it’s one of the best bathroom scales available.

LARQ watter bottle sitting beside a yoga matt
LARQ

LARQ self-cleaning water bottle

Anyone who’s ever used their water bottle for too long between proper cleanings knows that sometimes nasty stuff can accumulate inside. LARQ solves this problem by building UV lights into the bottle, allowing you to sanitize the water and keep harmful bacteria at bay. These bottles can filter the water, too.

A battery-powered water bottle? We’re skeptical as well, but the battery is supposed to last a month, and anything that keeps things clean these days is definitely in high demand. Plus, it features a double-walled design that keeps drinks both hot and cold for hours — and it means using less plastic.

Biosense breath ketone detector resting on a towel beside a <a href=smartphone" width="720" height="480" />
Biosense

Biosense breath ketone detector

Anyone who’s on the keto diet knows that getting into ketosis for optimal weight loss and fat burn can be vitally important, but knowing for sure you’re in ketosis can be a challenge and has previously involved pricking your finger for a blood reading or doing a urine test. Biosense, however, is making ketosis feedback instant and convenient with this handheld, breath-based device. All you need to do is breathe deeply into the breathalyzer, and you’ll receive instant results in the accompanying mobile app.

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Erin Lawrence
Erin Lawrence
Erin has over 20 years of experience as a journalist in the media and news industries, with time both on camera and behind…
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