A healthy body is a healthy mind. That’s why I’ve made a point out of making my self-care routine easier and more fun with these six gadgets.
It’s worth noting that many items on this list have cheaper alternatives if you’re in the market for a budgeted quality-of-life improvement.
6
Electric Toothbrush
Honestly, there’s little reason not to invest in an electric toothbrush. They provide a superior cleaning experience and end up being cheaper and less wasteful than buying disposables, even when factoring in the minor long-term cost of replacement brush heads.
Before buying an electric toothbrush, I guesstimated two-minute brushing sessions as I inefficiently scrubbed without prejudice. It kept my teeth in good enough shape, but I regularly missed spots in the process. My dentist urged me to get an electric toothbrush to remedy this.
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I ended up splurging for the Oral-B Pro 1000 Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush, which was less expensive than I expected for a device that hypothetically nixes the need to buy disposable ones. It was an immediate teeth-brushing paradigm shift. The brush is set to have you brush each quadrant of your pearly whites for 30 seconds each, adding up to the doctor-recommended two-minute mark. It also makes brushing remarkably easier as you slowly move the rotating bristles across your teeth, no scrubbing required. The toothbrush has other modes as well, but this basic functionality has been a game-changer by itself.
While first-party replaceable brush heads are a little pricey, there are a multitude of third-party options. I haven’t needed to buy more than the two it comes with yet, but with packs of eight third-party heads coming in at under $10, this may be the cheapest way to ensure a good cleaning (and hopefully make your next dentist visit a little less painful).
Oral-B Pro 1000
An electric toothbrush that helps you keep track of how long your brushing your teeth.
5
Water Flosser
My dental sin is that I’ve never been good at remembering to floss. That changed after I received the Waterpik Cordless Advanced 2.0 Water Flosser as a gift. Now, flossing is something I look forward to before bed each night.
A water flosser shoots blasts of water through a nozzle, flushing out the gunk between your teeth more effectively than a piece of string. Whereas traditional floss can feel a little painful, the sensation of water pushing through my teeth and lightly slapping my gum is soothing satisfaction. It’s what I imagine flappy-gummed dogs feel when sticking their heads out of car windows. To top these benefits off, water flossing after brushing my teeth clears out any lingering toothpaste taste, leaving my mouth refreshed before I nod off.
Frankly, you could buy a water flosser with a toothbrush tip and skip the electric toothbrush altogether if you really wanted to. It’s worth noting that water flosses are pretty big devices, making them poorly suited to that task. It’s still great to have options, though.
4
Quality Electric Razor
I spent most of my beard-growing years using cheap electric razors because I didn’t want to overspend on a daily care routine. While they caught on my skin regularly and didn’t provide the close shave I desired, I persevered until I finally decided to throw money at the problem.
My Braun Series 7 Electric Shaver wasn’t cheap at $150, but it made shaving infinitely more comfortable and precise, allowing me to better maintain long beards while completely cleaning my neck and cheeks of hair. The 360-degree flex head cuts so close that it arguably exposes my baby face too much. (I mean that as a compliment.)
Admittedly, this is the greatest luxury so far on this list. You can likely find other electric shavers at half the cost that will do an admirable enough job to justify the savings. However, with how many cheap, easily broken electric razors I went through, going all out felt like a long-term money save alongside being a quality-of-life boost.
3
Apple Watch
For the longest time, I saw no need for a smartwatch. Notifications buzzing my wrist all day? Yeah, no thanks. However, my mindset changed when I considered the boon one could be to living a healthier lifestyle and bought an Apple Watch.
Since being a writer often means lots of sedentary work, filling activity rings became a core motivator to get in some physical activity. Whether it’s standing up for a few minutes each hour or getting in light exercise on a day I might otherwise skip, the gamification of my health worked. Achievements are absolutely a part of this, such as how they motivate me to maintain my 537-day streak of filling my rings.
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Back when I used a calorie counter, these statistics integrated with it to provide calorie-gaining incentives. That ultimately backfired when I realized it was having the opposite effect of giving me an excuse to eat beyond my limit. Still, filling my rings has remained part of how I make sure I check some basic physical health checkboxes.
I was actually a bit disappointed when Apple added ring pausing to watchOS 11 as it gave me an easy way to take cheat days without consequence, and it definitely takes perseverance to not lazily flip it on outside very specific circumstances.
Apple Watch Series 10
Discover the Apple Watch Series 10, the thinnest and most advanced Apple wearable yet. Featuring a vibrant wide-angle OLED display, sleep apnea detection, and enhanced fitness tracking, it supports new water sports apps like Depth and Tides. Powered by the S10 chip, it delivers seamless performance and fast charging.
2
Ring Fit Adventure’s Pilates Ring
Ring Fit Adventure was one of the consequential Nintendo Switch releases for me. It helped keep me active during COVID lockdowns, and when I’ve returned to it in the time since, it’s been a surefire weight-loss aid.
The Pilates ring and leg strap combo is a stroke of genius from Nintendo, allowing for a versatile variety of gameplay-fueled workouts. Perhaps more importantly, it remains a quality piece of workout equipment even when the game is off. I’ve used it for exercises the game taught me while watching TV, for example. I love me some tech that can be dumbed down when needed.
An unorthodox way in which I most often use Ring Fit Adventure is as a running simulator. I create a custom workout comprised of the longest level repeated ten times, turning off enemy encounters. This results in 23-25 minutes of running in place, which is a pretty solid cardio workout.
If this piques your interest, remember that the peripherals only work with Switch 1 Joy-Con. If you’re buying a Switch 2 and want to try this, you’ll need to buy a set of old Joy-Cons and a means of charging them, which becomes prohibitively expensive. Still, I think Nintendo may have a sequel in the works for this very reason.
Ring Fit Adventure – Nintendo Switch
An exercise game for the Nintendo Switch that uses a Pilates ring and leg strap to read your movements.
It may seem strange to put a VR headset on this list, but VR exercising has become one of the primary ways I keep my body active to fill those Apple Watch rings.
Given that many VR games already require considerable body movement, exercise is a natural fit for headsets. Popular rhythm games that require extensive arm movement—like Beat Saber and Synth Riders—are well-known sweat factories. There are also more traditional workout apps like Supernatural and boxing games like The Thrill of the Fight that people use to immersively burn calories. Part of the fun for me is jumping around between fitness games to keep workouts varied to stave off boredom through repetition.
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The rise of mixed reality is also a huge step forward for Meta Quest 3 workout games. Being able to see your surroundings in-game with the headset on allows you to check your form or make sure you don’t smash your fist into a wall. Many workout games also accommodate tight play spaces with options to limit leg movement.
There are also some great accessories that help make the Meta Quest 3 workout experience peak. For example, active straps secure the controllers to your hands and specially made face masks stop you from sweating all over the headset’s face rest. There are also facial interfaces with cleanable materials if you prefer not to wear a mask.
If you’re interested in VR just for workouts, the more affordable Meta Quest 3S is a great option that gives you everything you need for that use-case.
Meta Quest 3
- Resolution (per eye)
-
2064 x 2208 (pixels per eye)
- Storage
-
128GB or 512GB
- Connectivity
-
Wi-Fi 6E
- Battery Life
-
Up to 2.2 hours on average
- Audio
-
Integrated stereo speakers with 3D spatial audio
- Weight
-
515g
