Smart home week: 9 wellness and relaxation gadgets

In partnership with Airthings

Home doesn’t have to feel like prison (well, unless you’re in prison). Combat cabin fever with some top mindfulness tech. 

1. Airthings House Kit

This triple shot of pollution-taming intelligence (£269) includes two separate sensors and a hub to monitor everything from temperature and humidity to VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and even the risk of mould. You can dissect the data any time and from anywhere, while comprehensively connected smarts mean it’ll integrate with Alexa, Google Assistant and IFTTT, so you can get the place cleaned up before you even arrive home.

2. Zwitscherbox

Stick the motion-sensitive Zwitscherbox (€49) on your wall and you’ll hear two minutes of blissful Black Forest birdsong whenever you go past. Sure, it’s not quite the same as a long walk in the woods, but it might just stop you going cuckoo, and it comes in a diverse choice of colours.

3. Soundasleep Speaker Pillow

Pillow noise will be nothing new if you snooze beside a snorer; but if you want a softer soundtrack to your dreams, rest your head on the Soundasleep Speaker Pillow (£40). Hidden beneath the quilted microfibre is a Bluetooth speaker: play an audiobook or a soothing playlist, or use the app for more advanced options.

4. Kikkerland Sound Pebble

The right amount of ambient noise can aid relaxation and soothe your subconscious. This sound-emitting Kikkerland Sound Pebble (€28) is way more melodious than a real rock, playing six natural sounds on a loop for constant calm. Think falling rain, ocean waves or the comforting crackle of a campfire.

5. Moodo Air

Address aromatic catastrophes with the Moodoo Air mix-and-match diffuser and purifier ($165): pick a pack of recyclable pods, pop them in the top then tweak the blend. You can use the partner app to adjust the potency, or add the Air to your smart home setup and have Alexa mix fragrance cocktails for you.

6. Blueair Blue Pure 411

Pollutants don’t make for a peaceful pad. Hit the button on the Blueair Blue Pure 411 (£128) and its three-layer system will filter the air in a 15m2 room every 12 minutes, tackling all manner of floating evils from household odours to pet hair. The fabric pre-filter is available in a range of colours to match your chillout zone.

7. Muse S

A headband that tracks brain activity in real time, the Muse S meditation assistant (£330) encourages focus by means of background sound, steering your brain away from distractions with rushing rain and rewarding calm with soothing ambience. It’ll also monitor your heart rate, breath, posture and sleep.

8. Fitbit Sense

The Fitbit Sense (£300) is designed to manage stress, monitor your body’s long-term trends and find calm in all the chaos. It harbours a host of health-tracking tools, including one-tap breathing exercises and an app that logs electrodermal activity to illustrate the effects a few quiet moments can have.

9. Flare Audio Calmer

Enhance your ear canals with these clever inserts. Rather than blocking noise out, the Flare Audio Calmer (£20) use a soft silicone waveguide to change how vibrations travel through the ear, subtly improving the quality of the sound you hear by filtering out the harsh frequencies known to cause stress.

StuffTV