Emotion and stress technology is still somewhat of a niche market. In a world saturated with fitness trackers all focusing on steps and calories burned, The team at DITTAPRO were recently given the opportunity to road test the Spire a ‘Zen’ spin on the current modern wearable which claims to track and monitor your breathing helping you to de-stress and relax giving you an insight into your current state of mind and, of course, move more.
Its clipped to your belt and monitors, steps, calories and most importantly, your respiratory patterns which are linked to an App which you can download to your Apple iPhone. It’s a cool looking device with a soft smooth back and the clip is strong enough to latch on to your belt (or bra) with ease without any discomfort. Ideally you want it as close to your body as possible.
So. does it do what it says on the tin? We have to admit, initially we were unconvinced but decided to give it a go and hooked it on to our chief test pilot Marcus who coincidentally is blessed with a nervous disposition and a short fuse. The perfect candidate for the job.
The verdict?
Surprisingly it works… to a certain extent. We love the fact that it does detect when you are tense or 'stressed' and gently vibrates reminding you to take a deep breaths before normalising again. Studies into how we inhale/exhale have shown that breathing better can have significant positive impacts on our health, including lowering blood pressure, reducing tension and even increasing endorphins.
It’s early days to make a full thorough assessment but we like what we have seen so far.
Negative points:
Its Apple iOS compatible only and the App can be tricky to decipher and navigate to make the required changes to your routine. The device has to be opened periodically to keep it synced with your phone otherwise the reminders do not work. Apart from that, we think it’s a positive sign of where things are heading, a new wave of biometric feedback wearables putting much needed emphasis on your mental health and wellbeing as well as your physical and fitness goals.
It's a neat first step and we'll report back on how it performs in the long term very soon.