The best biohacking devices and wearables. We tested them for you.
As the world of health and wellness continues to evolve, cutting-edge technology is taking center stage—helping us optimize our bodies, sharpen our minds, and push our personal boundaries. From wearable trackers that dig deep into our sleep cycles to handheld monitors that decode our metabolic data, biohacking devices have become key allies in our quest for better performance, longevity, and overall well-being.
In this article, we’ve sifted through the latest gadgets and gear, tested them thoroughly, and curated a selection of the best products out there. So get ready to discover the tools that can help you fine-tune your life and elevate your body’s natural capabilities like never before.
Sleep optimization
Whoop Strap 4.0
The Whoop Strap 4.0 is a cutting-edge wearable device designed to provide in-depth insights into sleep, recovery, and overall performance. Its advanced features and personalized analytics make it a standout tool for sleep optimization.- Personalized Insights: Whoop’s ability to tailor recommendations based on individual data ensures that users receive guidance specific to their unique sleep patterns and recovery needs.
- Holistic Approach: By integrating sleep tracking with recovery and strain analysis, Whoop offers a comprehensive view of how sleep impacts overall performance and health.
- User-Friendly Design: The strap’s minimalist, screen-free design encourages 24/7 wear, ensuring continuous data collection without distractions.
- Actionable Data: Whoop translates complex metrics into understandable scores and recommendations, empowering users to make meaningful changes to their sleep routines.
Oura Ring Generation 3
The Oura Ring Generation 3 is a discreet and sophisticated wearable designed to provide comprehensive insights into sleep patterns, recovery, and overall health. Its advanced sensors and user-friendly interface make it a leading choice for individuals aiming to optimize their sleep and well-being.- Accuracy: The Oura Ring’s precise sensors provide reliable data on sleep stages and quality, enabling users to make informed adjustments to their routines.
- User-Friendly Interface: The accompanying app presents data in an accessible manner, offering actionable insights and personalized recommendations for sleep improvement.
- Discreet Design: Its ring form factor ensures comfort and minimal intrusion, allowing for continuous wear without the bulk of traditional wrist-worn devices.
- Holistic Health Monitoring: By integrating sleep data with activity and physiological metrics, the Oura Ring offers a comprehensive view of health, emphasizing the critical role of sleep in overall well-being.
Stress and mood regulation
Apollo Neuro
The Apollo Neuro is an innovative wearable device designed to help users manage stress and regulate mood through gentle vibrations that stimulate the nervous system. Developed by neuroscientists and physicians, it aims to improve overall well-being by enhancing the body’s resilience to stress.
- Non-Invasive Approach: Unlike pharmacological interventions, Apollo Neuro offers a drug-free method to manage stress and mood, reducing the risk of side effects.
- Ease of Use: Its wearable design ensures that users can incorporate stress management into their daily routines seamlessly, whether at work, home, or during travel.
- Scientific Foundation: Developed based on extensive research in neuroscience, the device’s efficacy is supported by clinical studies demonstrating its positive impact on stress resilience and HRV.
- Personalization: The ability to tailor programs to individual needs allows for a customized experience, enhancing the effectiveness of interventions for stress and mood regulation.
Muse S Headband
The Muse S Headband is an advanced wearable device designed to enhance meditation practices and monitor sleep patterns. By utilizing electroencephalography (EEG) technology, it provides real-time feedback on brain activity, heart rate, breathing, and body movements, aiming to improve mental well-being through guided meditation and sleep tracking.
- Enhanced Meditation Experience: By providing real-time feedback on mental states, the Muse S helps users identify when their minds wander, facilitating a more effective meditation practice that can lead to reduced stress and improved mood.
- Improved Sleep Quality: The device’s sleep tracking capabilities allow users to monitor and analyze their sleep patterns, enabling them to make informed adjustments to enhance sleep quality, which is closely linked to mood regulation.
- Personalized Insights: With detailed data on physiological responses, users can gain a better understanding of their stress triggers and develop personalized strategies to manage stress and maintain emotional balance.
Metabolic and nutrition tracking
Lumen
The Lumen Metabolism Tracker is a pioneering handheld device that analyzes your breath to determine your body’s current fuel utilization—whether carbohydrates or fats. By measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in your exhalation, Lumen provides personalized nutritional guidance aimed at enhancing metabolic flexibility and overall health.
- Enhanced Metabolic Flexibility: By consistently monitoring and adjusting your diet based on Lumen’s feedback, you can train your body to switch more efficiently between burning fats and carbohydrates, a key component of metabolic health.
- Weight Management Support: Users have reported weight loss and improved metabolic function by adhering to Lumen’s personalized nutritional guidance, which aligns with individual metabolic states.
- Behavioral Accountability: The immediate feedback provided by Lumen encourages adherence to dietary plans and fosters greater mindfulness regarding food choices and their metabolic impacts.
Nutrisense CGM
The Nutrisense Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) is an innovative tool designed to provide real-time insights into your blood glucose levels, empowering you to make informed decisions about your diet and lifestyle. By utilizing a minimally invasive sensor placed on the upper arm, Nutrisense offers a comprehensive approach to understanding and optimizing metabolic health.
- Real-Time Feedback: Nutrisense allows users to see immediate effects of dietary choices and lifestyle habits on glucose levels, facilitating prompt adjustments for better metabolic control.
- Behavioral Insights: By identifying personal glucose triggers, users can modify behaviors to maintain stable blood sugar levels, reducing risks associated with metabolic disorders.
- Data-Driven Personalization: The combination of continuous data and expert support enables a customized approach to nutrition and health, moving away from generic advice to strategies that work for the individual.
Physical performance
Garmin Forerunner 945
The Garmin Forerunner 945 is a premium GPS smartwatch tailored for dedicated athletes, particularly runners and triathletes. It offers an extensive array of features designed to monitor and enhance physical performance, making it a standout choice for those seeking comprehensive training insights.
- Advanced Performance Metrics: The Forerunner 945 provides in-depth data, including VO2 max estimates, training status, and load, as well as aerobic and anaerobic training effects. These metrics enable athletes to assess and optimize their training regimens effectively.
- Comprehensive Activity Tracking: Beyond running and cycling, the watch supports multiple sports modes, offering detailed analytics for various activities, which is essential for multisport athletes.
- Integrated Music and Payments: Users can store music directly on the device and make contactless payments via Garmin Pay, adding convenience to workouts and daily routines.
- Extended Battery Life: The Forerunner 945 boasts impressive battery longevity, supporting long training sessions and endurance events without frequent recharging.
WHOOP Strap 4.0
The WHOOP Strap 4.0 is an advanced wearable device designed to provide in-depth insights into various aspects of health and performance, including recovery, strain, sleep, and overall wellness. Its comprehensive data collection and analysis make it a valuable tool for individuals aiming to optimize their physical performance.
- Recovery Assessment: WHOOP evaluates daily recovery by analyzing heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate (RHR), and sleep performance, offering a recovery score that guides training intensity decisions.
- Strain Monitoring: The device quantifies cardiovascular exertion during activities, helping users balance training loads to prevent overtraining and promote optimal performance.
- Sleep Tracking: WHOOP monitors sleep stages, duration, and quality, providing personalized recommendations to enhance rest and recovery.
- Health Monitoring: The WHOOP 4.0 includes sensors for skin temperature and blood oxygen levels, offering a comprehensive view of physiological status.
- Any-Wear Technology: This feature allows the device to be worn in various locations on the body, such as the torso, waist, and calf, providing flexibility and comfort.
Recovery and pain management
Theragun Prime
The Theragun Prime by Therabody is a percussive therapy device engineered to alleviate muscle soreness, expedite recovery, and manage pain effectively. Its combination of advanced features and user-friendly design makes it a standout tool for individuals seeking to enhance their recovery routines.
- QuietForce Technology: The Theragun Prime operates with significantly reduced noise levels compared to its predecessors, providing a quieter user experience without compromising on power.
- Adjustable Speed Settings: It offers five built-in speed ranges, from 1,750 to 2,400 percussions per minute (PPM), allowing users to customize the intensity of their treatment to suit their specific needs.
- Smart App Integration: Through Bluetooth connectivity, the Therabody app provides personalized routines and real-time guidance, enhancing the effectiveness of treatments.
- Deep Muscle Treatment: With a 16mm amplitude, the Theragun Prime delivers deep tissue massage, reaching deeper into muscles to relieve tension and soreness.
- Accelerated Warm-Up and Recovery: The percussive therapy aids in warming up muscles before workouts and accelerates recovery post-exercise by increasing blood flow and reducing lactic acid buildup.
NormaTec Compression Boots
The NormaTec Compression Boots are advanced recovery devices designed to enhance athletic performance and expedite muscle recovery through dynamic compression therapy. Utilizing a patented pulsing technology, these boots aim to reduce muscle soreness, decrease inflammation, and improve circulation, making them a valuable tool for both athletes and individuals seeking effective recovery solutions.
- Sequential Pulsing Technology: NormaTec’s unique pulsing action mimics the muscle pump of the legs and arms, enhancing the movement of fluid and metabolites out of the limbs.
- Customizable Compression Levels: Users can adjust the intensity of compression to suit personal comfort and specific recovery needs, allowing for a tailored recovery session.
- Zone Boost Feature: This function enables targeted attention to specific areas requiring additional compression, providing focused therapy where it’s needed most.
- Accelerated Recovery Time: Regular use of NormaTec Compression Boots has been associated with faster recovery periods, enabling athletes to maintain a consistent training schedule.
Cognitive enhancement
Muse S Headband
The Muse S Headband is an advanced wearable device designed to enhance meditation practices and monitor sleep patterns, thereby contributing to cognitive enhancement. By providing real-time feedback on brain activity, heart rate, breathing, and body movements, it assists users in achieving deeper meditation states and gaining insights into their sleep quality.
- EEG-Powered Feedback: The Muse S utilizes electroencephalography (EEG) sensors to monitor brainwave activity, offering real-time feedback that guides users toward improved focus and relaxation during meditation sessions.
- Comprehensive Sleep Tracking: Equipped with sensors that track sleep stages, position changes, heart rate, and breathing patterns, the headband provides detailed sleep scores and insights to help users understand and enhance their sleep quality.
- Guided Meditation Sessions: Access to a vast library of guided meditations focusing on various aspects such as focus, stress reduction, and sleep, allows users to tailor their meditation experience to their specific needs.
- Promotion of Neuroplasticity: Regular use of the device can aid in reshaping neural pathways, fostering better habits, and enhancing overall cognitive function.
- Alpha Peak Tracking: The Muse S features Alpha Peak tracking, measuring the brain’s alpha wave activity to establish a baseline cognitive score and offer tips to optimize performance, thereby aiding in monitoring and enhancing cognitive health over time.
BrainTap Headset
The BrainTap Headset is an innovative device designed to enhance mental well-being and cognitive performance by utilizing a combination of light and sound therapy. By guiding the brain through various states of consciousness, it aims to promote relaxation, improve focus, and support overall mental health.
- Multisensory Stimulation: The headset delivers gentle pulses of light through specialized earphones and a visor, synchronized with auditory stimuli such as binaural beats and isochronic tones, to facilitate deep relaxation and altered states of consciousness.
- Brainwave Entrainment: By employing specific frequencies of light and sound, the device encourages the brain to align with desired brainwave patterns, promoting states conducive to meditation, learning, and relaxation.
- Guided Visualization Sessions: BrainTap offers a variety of audio sessions encoded with Neuro-Sensory Algorithms (NSAs) that guide users from wakefulness into deeply relaxed, optimal learning states.
- Facilitation of Deep Meditative States: The combination of light and sound therapy assists users in achieving profound meditative states without extensive practice, leading to improved mental clarity and intuition.
- Support for Neuroplasticity: Regular use of the BrainTap Headset can aid in reshaping neural pathways, fostering better habits, and enhancing overall cognitive function.
Heart and respiratory health
Biostrap
The Biostrap is a sophisticated wearable health analytics platform designed to provide comprehensive insights into various physiological metrics, with a particular emphasis on heart and respiratory health. By utilizing advanced sensors and cloud-based analytics, Biostrap offers users detailed data to monitor and enhance their overall well-being.
- Advanced Biometric Monitoring: Biostrap captures a range of vital signs, including heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), respiratory rate, and blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂), offering a holistic view of cardiovascular and respiratory health.
- Clinical-Grade PPG Sensors: Equipped with photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors, Biostrap monitors each heartbeat for multiple parameters, ensuring precise data collection for accurate health assessments.
- Sleep Analysis: The device provides in-depth sleep tracking, analyzing sleep stages and offering insights to improve sleep quality, which is crucial for cardiovascular health.
- Activity Tracking: Biostrap monitors physical activities, including steps, calories burned, and specific workout metrics, helping users understand the impact of exercise on heart and respiratory functions.
- Clinical-Grade Accuracy: The use of advanced PPG sensors ensures high precision in data collection, making it reliable for users seeking accurate health assessments
Oura Ring
The Oura Ring is a sophisticated wearable device designed to monitor and enhance various aspects of health, with a particular focus on heart and respiratory functions. Its sleek design and advanced sensor technology provide users with comprehensive insights into their physiological metrics, promoting informed decisions for overall well-being.
- Comprehensive Health Monitoring: The Oura Ring tracks a range of vital signs, including heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), respiratory rate, and body temperature, offering a holistic view of cardiovascular and respiratory health.
- Advanced Sensor Technology: Equipped with infrared photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors, the ring ensures precise data collection, facilitating accurate assessments of health metrics.
- Sleep Analysis: The device provides detailed sleep tracking, analyzing sleep stages and offering insights to improve sleep quality, which is crucial for cardiovascular health.
- Activity Tracking: The Oura Ring monitors physical activities, including steps, calories burned, and specific workout metrics, helping users understand the impact of exercise on heart and respiratory functions.
- Clinical-Grade Accuracy: The use of advanced PPG sensors ensures high precision in data collection, making it reliable for users seeking accurate health assessments.
Longevity and anti-aging
DNAfit
DNAfit is a personalized genetic testing service that provides insights into how your DNA influences your response to diet, exercise, and overall health. By analyzing specific genetic markers, DNAfit offers tailored recommendations to optimize your lifestyle choices, which can contribute to longevity and anti-aging.
- Dietary Insights: DNAfit examines genes related to nutrient metabolism, food sensitivities, and dietary preferences, enabling the creation of a personalized nutrition plan that aligns with your genetic profile.
- Health Reports: DNAfit offers insights into stress response, sleep quality, and recovery abilities, helping you make informed decisions to enhance overall well-being.
- Personalized Nutrition: By tailoring dietary recommendations to your genetic makeup, DNAfit helps optimize nutrient intake, which is crucial for maintaining cellular health and preventing age-related diseases.
- Optimized Exercise Regimens: Customized fitness plans based on your genetic profile can improve physical health, enhance cardiovascular function, and promote muscle maintenance, all of which are vital for healthy aging.
- Stress and Sleep Management: Understanding your genetic predisposition to stress and sleep patterns allows for targeted interventions, reducing the risk of chronic conditions associated with aging.
Healy Frequency Device
The Healy Frequency Device is a wearable wellness technology that utilizes microcurrent therapy and individualized frequency programs to promote overall health and vitality. By delivering specific frequencies tailored to the user’s needs, Healy aims to harmonize the body’s bioenergetic field, potentially supporting longevity and anti-aging efforts.
- Microcurrent Therapy: Healy delivers low-intensity electrical currents intended to stimulate cellular processes, which may aid in cellular repair and regeneration.
- Individualized Frequency Programs: The device offers a variety of programs targeting different aspects of health, including pain relief, energy balance, and mental well-being.
- Resonance Sensor Technology: Healy’s resonance sensor analyzes the body’s frequencies in real-time, selecting optimal frequencies to support the body’s needs at any given moment.
- Cellular Health Support: By applying microcurrent therapy, Healy aims to enhance ATP production and protein synthesis, processes vital for cellular health and regeneration, which are essential in combating aging.
- Portability and Convenience: As a compact, wearable device, Healy enables users to integrate frequency therapy seamlessly into their daily routines, ensuring consistent use and potential long-term benefits.
Gut health and microbiome analysis
Viome Gut Intelligence Test
The Viome Gut Intelligence Test is an at-home microbiome analysis kit designed to provide personalized insights into your gut health. By examining the activity of microorganisms in your digestive system, Viome offers tailored dietary recommendations aimed at enhancing overall well-being.
- Comprehensive Microbial Analysis: Viome utilizes advanced metatranscriptomic sequencing to assess the gene expression of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms in your gut. This approach provides a detailed understanding of your microbiome’s current state.
- Personalized Dietary Recommendations: Based on the analysis, Viome delivers customized food suggestions to promote beneficial microbial activity and address potential imbalances.
- User-Friendly At-Home Testing: The test kit includes all necessary materials for easy sample collection, which is then mailed to Viome’s laboratory for analysis. Results are accessible through a secure online portal.
- Advanced Sequencing Technology: Viome’s use of metatranscriptomic sequencing allows for a more precise analysis of microbial activity compared to traditional methods, offering deeper insights into the gut ecosystem.
Biofeedback devices
Reflect Orb
The Reflect Orb is a handheld biofeedback device designed to assist users in managing stress and enhancing mindfulness through real-time physiological feedback. By measuring key indicators such as heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA), the Reflect Orb provides immediate insights into the user’s stress levels, facilitating effective relaxation techniques.
- Real-Time Biofeedback: The Reflect Orb employs sensors to monitor HRV and EDA, offering users instantaneous feedback on their physiological state. This data is visually represented through the device’s changing colors, which correspond to varying stress levels.
- User-Friendly Design: Crafted as a soft, tactile sphere, the Reflect Orb is comfortable to hold, promoting a calming experience. Its portable nature allows for use in diverse settings, making it a versatile tool for stress management.
- Companion Mobile Application: The device syncs with the Reflect app, which provides guided meditations, relaxation exercises, and tracks progress over time, enabling users to develop and maintain effective mindfulness practices.
HeartMath Inner Balance
The HeartMath Inner Balance is a biofeedback device designed to help users manage stress and enhance emotional well-being by monitoring heart rate variability (HRV) and promoting heart coherence. By providing real-time feedback, it enables users to achieve a balanced state between the heart and brain, fostering improved mental clarity and emotional stability.
- Real-Time HRV Monitoring: The Inner Balance sensor clips to the earlobe, measuring HRV to assess the synchronization between the heart and brain, known as coherence.
- Portable Design: Available in both wired and Bluetooth versions, the compact sensor allows for convenient use in various settings, facilitating regular practice.
- Enhanced Emotional Regulation: Regular use of the Inner Balance device has been associated with reduced stress levels, increased energy, and improved emotional balance.
- Improved Cognitive Function: Achieving coherence through HRV training can lead to greater mental clarity and focus, benefiting both personal and professional aspects of life.
- Scientifically Validated Technology: HeartMath’s HRV coherence algorithm is recognized for accurately reflecting the synchronization between the heart and brain, providing reliable data for users.
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