With the holiday shopping season approaching, many of us are thinking about buying the latest, most cutting-edge tech gadgets for our loved ones. I’d suggest another direction: Shopping for devices that help reduce stress and cognitive load. Let me explain what I mean.
Think about how much of our technology is designed not to be calm. Your car probably has a touchscreen on the dashboard—even though it’s incredibly dangerous and stressful to use while driving. At work, there are typically several devices that are difficult to operate or repair when they break down. And when you go to bed, there’s likely one or more devices emitting a blue light that will disturb your sleep. And that’s not even getting into our smartphones!
Fortunately, there are some great tech products out there that do prioritize customer well-being. They also happen to make thoughtful gifts for people in your life.
Gifts for Kids
Thirty percent of parents have reported high levels of stress compared to 20% of non-parents. These high levels of stress are often passed on to their kids, leaving less time for connection and play. Here are three, parent-approved devices to help reduce stress for both adults and their offspring.
- OK to Wake – Alarm Clock for Kids, Children’s Sleep Trainer ($39.99): OK to Wake helps kids learn regular sleep routines—thus helping parents enjoy longer sleep periods, too! The product works with gentle, color-coded lights and peaceful alarm sounds (white noise, lullabies, nature, etc.) and employs a low resolution indicator light that informs without overburdening.
- Time Timer ($26.95): Time Timer is popular with teachers and parents of kids with autism and ADHD. Featuring a colored disc that gradually disappears as time elapses, it’s often used for productivity, time management, and helping children understand the very concept of time. The gradual disappearance of the colored disk provides a calm, intuitive way to show time passing, especially when placed across a room.
- Yoto Player Kids Bluetooth Speaker – Plays Stories, Music, Podcasts, White Noise, Thermometer, Nightlight, Alarm Clock ($99): Offering kids a break from the algorithmic content of YouTube and other social platforms, the Yoto Player plays highly curated bedtime stories, podcasts, and white noise during bedtime. The design is notably child-friendly, with simple controls and a soft LED display that won’t interrupt sleep. The large tactile buttons (a periphery interface) enable usage in the dark without having to turn on the room lights or focus on a bright UI screen.
Gifts for Home/Personal Tech
With our daily lives cluttered by distracting devices and app notifications, it’s important to consider products which help create a serene environment.
- 20x25x1 Air Filter by Colorfil | Color Changing Filters Designed for Cat and Dog Odor ($41.79): Our family pets are soothing; their hair and odors are not. Colorfil’s NASA-originated filter absorbs gas phase chemicals and odors from the air—and literally changes color from pink to yellow as it does so, so you don’t have to set a calendar reminder to change the filter. You can just look at it. Rather than having to check an LED meter or other abstract indicator, you know when the filter is ready to be replaced when it’s turned a bright yellow.
- AirThing View Plus ($249): Air quality inside the home affects human health, but is often invisible. AirThings makes air quality visible through seven sensors and visualizes them in a calm way. AirThings devices have e-ink display and a colored indicator, compressing information into a glanceable display, while allowing for a detailed view through the app. The battery life is extremely long, while the visual indicator light and e-ink display provides visual cues about air quality without intrusive audible alerts.
- Bose Headphones 700 – Noise Canceling Bluetooth over-ear headphones ($379.00): Seamlessly removes unwanted environmental noise while enabling you to hear music and take phone calls with perfect crisp audio. Bose uses a reductive design to remove sound from the environment, allowing you to focus on your thoughts and experience music while in noisy places, like on an airplane. Technology should always amplify the best of technology and the best of humanity.
- Daylight Computer ($729.00): A laptop designed to be used both outdoors and at night without disrupting circadian rhythm, the Daylight Computer (DC-1) represents a paradigm shift in computing devices. This innovative device combines the benefits of digital technology with a more human-friendly interface. And by offering a dedicated space for focused tasks like reading, writing, and note-taking, DC-1 minimizes digital distractions; days of use on a single battery charge reduce the anxiety associated with frequent charging needs.
- Loop Engage 2 Plus Ear Plugs ($44.95): Crowded parties and other social events can be overwhelming and distracting; these plugs filter out background noise while enabling you to focus on specific conversations you are having. (Note: These items are easy to lose; neurodivergent users might want to place them in a pouch attached to a keychain.) Loop uses the minimum amount of technology to solve the problem, resulting in a small solution that’s easier to use than a squishy foam earplug.
- NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter ($99.95): Jumper cables are a necessary but intimidating part of the diving experience. (Where do I put the connectors again? Will I destroy my battery in the process?) I recently used one of these when my car lost its battery life on a road trip. Fortunately, a friend had brought hers, bringing my car back to life long enough to drive to an AutoZone. This model is designed to make a jump start simple, safe, and easy, with clear indicators and instructions on the front, so you can jumpstart your car without fear of misuse.
- Unpluq (Price varies based on subscription): A simple keychain tag with NFC connectivity, Unpluq “locks” selected apps for a designated time, preventing access unless they’re physically unlocked—giving users a concrete, customizable means to manage their digital habits while maintaining tangible interfaces. With an average screen time reduction of one hour and 22 minutes per day, Unpluq demonstrates lasting behavioral change. True to its intent, Unpluq also requires minimal attention, using a physical key to manage phone access, requiring nominal cognitive effort to engage or disengage from digital distractions.
The explosive growth of social media and smartphones, now further amplified by AI, has totally overwhelmed us. But there’s a better, more humane approach to tech that we desperately need now. A good place to start is in our shopping and gift-giving habits.
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