Lief: Smart patch that fights stress
Stress is sometimes called the ‘Epidemic of the 21st century’. It is an inevitable part of modern life, but its long-term effect on our health and productivity can be dramatic. Over two-thirds of office visits to physicians are for stress related illnesses. The good news is, there is a growing number of smart wearables that are trying to gauge our state of mind.
Essential reading: Stress busting wearables to help you chill
Lief is one such device. The smart patch, currently funding on Kickstarter, hopes to provide greater calm and focus by teaching users how to control their body’s natural stress response through breathing exercises.
Lief does this by monitoring your heart rate variability (HRV), the amount of time between each heart beat. This is an important biomarker of your physical and psychological health. A low HRV score is linked with anxiety, distraction and poor performance. The company says its patch is 200 times more accurate at tracking heart rate than wrist worn fitness trackers.
Stick Lief on in the morning underneath the pectoral muscle, then forget about it. When the device determines you are under stress, it begins vibrating on your body guiding your breath to your heart’s restorative rhythm. Just exhale with each vibration. It takes only 3 minutes to improve your natural stress response with these breathing exercises.
In addition to tracking your heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing and mood via an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, Lief also uses a 3-axis accelerometer to provide basic fitness data such as your steps, distance and calories.
The shape of the device is designed to comfortably fit and bend with your torso. The patch is just 6mm thin and sits under your clothing. Lief uses replaceable stickers for all-day wear. In terms of battery life, the device will keep going for up to a week before needing a recharge.
Price: $159 and up
Funding open:
$58,053 pledged of $50,000 goal
37 days to go – funding closes Jan 11 2017
Estimated delivery: Jun 2017
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