Wearable gadgets continue to find new purposes, with the latest device being designed to help you deal with stress.
The gadget, called Spire, is tasked with helping the user relax by measuring factors like breathing patterns by attaching to any part of clothing, such as a belt, bra strap and even underwear, according to The Huffington Post. Similar to fitness trackers, the device can also monitor the amount of steps taken.
Jonathon Palley, CEO of Spire, composed an email that spoke of the difficulty of keeping up with the chaos of everyday life, and said the clip-on device's notifications intend to "bring mindfulness and awareness streaks of tension/focus/calm within this chaos."
A demo video features a businesswoman, who is in a rush and gets into an elevator, and Spire suggests that she take a breath to relax, and then alerts her when she's focused. The compatible iPhone app won't say anything if the user is fine.
"The notifications that interrupt you are only after long periods of tensions without any type of self-correction. We've found this mostly happen(s) when we become tense for an extended period of time but are unaware of it," Palley said.
Users are encouraged to set goals to improve their mental health for different categories, which include Calm, Focus and Activity, Re/code reported. Real-time breathing data and recent "streaks" of activity will appear on the home screen, and tapping on the streaks will show breaths per minute and other extra data.
Spire added an interactive calendar to its Progress Tool, along with a three-leaf graphic that shows progress made each day.
While Lauren Goode from Re/code said there were a few bugs in the device, such as with battery levels and connection between Spire and the app, the company says the problem affects only a small amount of units.
Diana Winston, director of mindfulness education at the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center, said the wearable has the potential to help people relax, but warned that devices created to send reminders often don't last in popularity, according to The Huffington Post.
Spire is available now for $150, and founder Neema Moraveji says he hopes the gadget will help stressed-out people stay aware of their state of being.
