Calm Tech Gift Guide
With the launch of Calm Tech Certified™ and the holiday shopping season here, I’m excited to share this directory of great products and devices that prioritize customer well-being.
Some were selected in the Calm Tech Institute’s first certification process, while others are from my own personal shopping cart. All of them are designed along principles of Calm Technology to respect our attention while reducing stress and cognitive load. They also happen to make thoughtful gifts for people in your life.
Gifts for Kids
30% of parents have reported high levels of stress compared to 20% of non-parents. These high levels of stress, can often pass on to their kids as well, leaving less time for connection and play. Here are three, parent-approved devices to help reduce stress for both parents and their offspring.
LittleHippo Mella: Ready to Rise Children’s Sleep Trainer ($39.99): LittleHippo helps kids learn regular sleep routines — thus helping parents enjoy longer sleep periods! The product works with gentle color coded lights and peaceful alarm sounds (white noise, lullabies, nature, etc.),
Calm Tech Principles in LittleHippo: LittleHippo uses a low resolution indicator light that doesn’t require knowledge of numbers or time.
Time Timer ($26.95): Chosen among our first round Calm Tech Certified™ products, Time Timer is popular for teachers, and parents of kids with autism and ADHD. Featuring a colored disc that gradually disappears as time elapses, it’s often used for productivity, time management, and helping children understand the very concept of time.
Key Calm Tech Principle in Time Timer: Informs and creates calm. The gradual disappearance of the colored disk provides a calm, intuitive way to show time passing, especially when placed across a room.
Yoto Player Kids Bluetooth Speaker — Plays Stories, Music, Podcasts, White Noise, Thermometer, Nightlight, Alarm Clock ($99): Offering kids a break from the algorithmic content of YouTube and other social platforms, the Yoto Player plays highly curated bedtime stories, podcasts, and white noise during bedtime. The design is notably child-friendly, with simple control, and a soft LED display that won’t interrupt sleep.
Key Calm Tech Principles in Yoto Player: Large tactile buttons (a periphery interface) enable usage in the dark without having to turn on the room lights or focus on a bright UI screen.
Gifts for Home/Personal Tech
With our daily lives cluttered by distracting devices and app notifications, it’s important to consider products which help create a serene environment.
20x25x1 Air Filter by Colorfil | Color Changing Filters Designed for Cat and Dog Odor ($41.79): Pets are soothing, their hair and odors are not. Colorfil’s NASA-originated filter absorbs gas phase chemicals and odors from the air — and literally changes color from pink to yellow as it does so, meaning that you don’t need to set a Calender reminder to remember to change the filter. You can just look at it.
Key Calm Tech Principle in Air Filter by Colorfil’s Design: Communicates with color. Rather than require checking an LED meter or other abstract indicator, you know when the filter is ready to be replaced when it’s turned a bright yellow.
Airthings View Plus ($249): Air quality inside the home affects human health, but is often invisible. Airthings makes air quality visible through seven sensors and visualizes them in a calm way. Airthings devices have e-ink display and a colored indicator, compressing information into a glanceable display, while allowing for a detailed view through the app. The battery life is extremely long, the unit is small and responsible, and it passes Calm Tech Certification on every level.
Key Calm Tech Principles in Airthings’ Design: Communicates without speaking. The visual indicator light and E-Ink display provides visual cues about air quality without intrusive audible alerts. (I recently wrote about how Airthings helped turn my living space into a friendly spacecraft.)
Bose Headphones 700 — Noise Canceling Bluetooth over-ear headphones ($379.00). Seamlessly removes unwanted environmental noise while enabling you to hear music and take phone calls with perfect crisp audio.
Key Calm Tech Principle in Bose Headphones 700’s Design: Technology should amplify the best of technology and the best of humanity. Bose uses a reductive design to remove sound from the environment, allowing you to focus on your thoughts and experience music while in noisy places like an airplane!
Daylight Computer: A laptop designed to be used both outdoors and at night without disrupting circadian rhythm, the Daylight Computer (DC-1) represents a paradigm shift in computing devices, earning it Calm Tech Certification. This innovative device combines the benefits of digital technology with a more human-friendly interface.
Key Calm Tech Principle in Daylight Computer: Distraction-free environment and extended battery life: By offering a dedicated space for focused tasks like reading, writing, and note-taking, DC-1 minimizes digital distractions; days of use on a single battery charge reduce the anxiety associated with frequent charging needs.
Loop Engage 2 Plus Ear Plugs ($44.95): Crowded parties and other social events can be overwhelming and distracting; these plugs filter out background noise while enabling you to focus on specific conversations you are having (Note that these items are easy to lose. Neurodivergent users might want to place them in a pouch attached to a keychain).
Key Calm Tech Principle in Loop Engage’s Design: Loop uses the minimum amount of technology to solve the problem, resulting in a small solution that’s easier to use than a squishy foam earplug.
NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter ($99.95) Jumper cables are a necessary but intimidating part of the diving experience. (Where do I put the connectors again? Will I destroy my battery in the process?) This model is designed to make a jump start simple, safe, and easy.
I recently used one of these when my car lost its battery life while I was on a road trip. I was luckily with a friend who grabbed this out of her car and brought my car back to life long enough to drive it to an AutoZone.
Key Calm Tech Principle in NOCO Boost’s Design: Technology can communicate, but doesn’t need to speak. The indicators and instructions on the battery jumpstarter help you jumpstart your car without fear of misuse.
Unpluq: A simple keychain tag with NFC connectivity, Unplug “locks” selected apps for a designated time, preventing access unless they’re physically unlocked — giving users a concrete, customizable means to manage their digital habits, while aligning with calm technology’s emphasis on tangible interfaces.
Key Calm Tech Principle in Unplug’s Design: Requires minimal attention: Unpluq uses a physical key to manage phone access, requiring nominal cognitive effort to engage or disengage from digital distractions.
With an average screen time reduction of 1 hour and 22 minutes per day, Unpluq demonstrates lasting behavioral change. We recently spoke with Unplug CEO Caroline Cadwell for this in-depth interview.
Are there other encalming products and devices which also deserve to be on this list? Please suggest them in the comments!
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Article Notes:
A shorter version of this post was originally published on Fast Company.
This article contains affiliate links. Buying through this post helps support the Calm Tech Institute!
