5 essential gadgets for turning your home into a self-care sanctuary
While some people gain energy from going out and talking to people, others gain it from staying at home. Spending a cosy night in can be a comforting and restorative experience, whether you're curling up on the couch to binge watch Netflix, sipping a hot drink while devouring a book, or practising mindfulness in a relaxing hot bath.
Your home should be a refuge — a safe place where you can relax, decompress, and take shelter from the stresses of your workday. As such, it's vital to cultivate a peaceful, welcoming home environment.
There are myriad ways to upgrade your downtime, adding a tinge of luxury and extra care into your self-care. You may not be able to visit a spa every single day, but you can certainly make your home feel almost as restorative.
In no particular order, here are five gadgets to make staying at home a little cosier.
1. Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Bulbs
If you can only implement one interior decorating tip, it should be to seriously consider the importance of lighting. The right lighting can transform a bedroom from pointedly cold and sterile, to alluringly sensuous, to comfortable and cosy, all with the literal flick of a switch. It's one of the easiest things you can do to upgrade your living space.
The RGBCW light bulbs in Nanoleaf's Essentials range can instantly improve your lighting situation without any complicated setup. These smart bulbs can be set to practically any colour you can think of, letting you appropriately set the mood for whatever home activity you have in mind. They're great for upgrading your floor lamps, but even if you primarily rely on overhead lighting, Nanoleaf's bulbs will do a lot to change your home's atmosphere.
The Nanoleaf app also allows you to create your own scenes by setting each bulb to a different colour, or you can choose from various dynamic presets shared by both the company and the community. Bulbs can be grouped together in the app as well as controlled independently, so you can even have different lighting themes for different rooms.
2. FOREO LUNA 4 Body Ultrasonic Silicone Brush
Ultrasonic silicone brushes are well-known gadgets among those interested in skincare. Such devices gently exfoliate the face, removing dirt, oil, and dead skin cells to leave you feeling fresh and clean. FOREO's LUNA 4 brush aims to give this same care to the rest of you as well, offering a full-body scrub down that's more hygienic than reusing the same old exfoliating mitt — and also takes less effort.
FOREO's LUNA 4 Body is waterproof, so you don't have to worry about using it in the shower. Just apply body wash to yourself, turn your LUNA 4 Body on, and rub the palm sized handheld device over your body in gentle circles. The brush automatically turns off after three minutes, so you won't get too carried away meditatively cleansing your body.
Is an ultrasonic silicone body brush necessary for cleanliness? No. But a life restricted to necessities is a life stripped of joy. The FOREO LUNA 4 Body adds a little novel opulence to your bathing routine, reminding you to slow down and take time to look after yourself.
3. Withings Sleep Analyser
Of all the relaxing activities one can do at home, sleep ranks among the most important. Unfortunately, a good nights' sleep is a joy that often eludes many. According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, one in three adults regularly fail to get the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep.
Withings' Sleep Analyser tracks your sleep without any wearables, helping you adjust your habits to optimise your chances of a peaceful night of rest. All you have to do is place it beneath your mattress, sync it to your Withings app, and the Sleep Analyser will send its data straight to your phone.
Such information includes how long you took to fall asleep, how much time you spent in each sleep cycle, whether your sleep was interrupted, and whether you're sticking to a regular bedtime. These data points contribute to a daily Sleep Quality Score, which basically marks your sleep out of 100.
It's a great way to hack your brain if you're the type of person who'd stress out if you didn't get straight As. Checking your sleep score every morning makes getting a proper night of sleep feel like a challenge, and one you'll want to win.
4. Cuisinart PerfectTemp Cordless Electric Kettle
I've said it before and I'll say it again: You need an electric kettle. Enjoy a hot coffee? Get an electric kettle. Prefer a perfectly brewed tea? Get an electric kettle. Just want a quick cup of instant ramen? Get an electric kettle. These essential kitchen miracles solve myriad problems you didn't even know you had, and are sadly underutilised in U.S. households.
At this point, I'd be happy if Americans finally gave up their screaming stovetop contraptions and got any electric kettle at all. But if you really want to upgrade your hot drink experience, consider a unit that allows you to heat water to a specific temperature, such as Cuisinart's PerfectTemp Cordless Electric Kettle.
This benchtop babe can boil up to 1.7L, or 57 fl oz of delicious H2O. It doesn't stop there, though. The Cuisinart's PerfectTemp kettle can also heat water to five preset temperatures below boiling – ensuring you never scald your tea – as well as keep it warm for 30 minutes. It's worth keeping in mind that some users have found this kettle a bit heavy, as well as noting that its painted-on button labels will eventually wear off. But if you're after a versatile kitchen workhorse for making soothing warm drinks at the end of a hard day, the PerfectTemp Cordless Electric Kettle is a great option.
5. HTC VIVE XR Elite VR Headset
A VR headset is admittedly an exorbitant purchase for most people. But if you're invested in turning your home into a haven and are ready to splurge, the HTC VIVE XR Elite will give you a lightweight virtual reality escape that's ridiculously easy to set up with just your phone. No wires, no specced-out computer, no hassle.
You should think carefully about what software you intend to run before dropping your hard earned cash on a VR headset, though. Virtual reality isn't the best format for visual novels, and shooters can be hit or miss. Where VR really excels is horror — if you can stomach it — and rhythm or exercise games.
Exercise-focused video games may sound like a gimmick, but the VR format makes them surprisingly engaging. Titles such as Les Mills BODYCOMBAT, which has you punch approaching targets, provide a fun way to work out without feeling like you're exercising or making you feel self-conscious.
You can only really play Les Mills BODYCOMBAT in short bursts, since you will sweat enough to fog up your headset. But it's a convenient reminder to take breaks, ensuring you don't get so carried away by the rhythm that you're too sore the next day.
