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The connected watch of the future will help us reduce our stress

Are you one of the people addicted to their connected watch? Whatever the brand of the jewel, it allows us to count the steps we take, to know if we slept well, to follow our heart rate, even to make us do breathing exercises (this is the case of the Fitbit Blaze for example). But it may well be that in the future, connected watches will have another role:that of reducing our level of stress. In any case, this is what scientists say who have discovered a vibration that reproduces the heart rate and has a calming effect. This vibration could thus be integrated into a device such as a connected watch, which would make it possible to relax almost immediately. Not bad!

Maternal instinct

For the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports , the researchers tested a device, worn on the wrist, which reproduces the beating of the heart. Participants were divided into two groups, and asked to wear the device before speaking in public. They thought the device was measuring blood pressure. But the device's "heartbeat" function had only been activated for one of the groups. Verdict? The level of anxiety felt in people who benefited from the “heartbeat” function was much lower than in others, and this is confirmed by the physical signs of stress. The author of the study also specifies that the device reproduces the maternal instinct of the mother who places her baby against her heart to calm him.

For the moment, the connected tools do not yet have this calming function, but it is a safe bet that it will equip the next generations of watches. That would be great news!