When we look at the health wearables and apps in the market, it seems that the mainstream industry has ignored the other sex. Take Apple’s HealthKit tracks for example. They obscure metrics like copper intake and selenium that the majority of people don’t even care about, but for some reason, it doesn’t track reproductive cycles or periods.
Bellabeat filled this gap in the market with its first device, Shell, which allows pregnant women to record, hear, and send their unborn baby’s heartbeat to friends and relatives, while also acting as a baby monitor, music player, and home monitoring device once the baby is born.
They created Leaf, a piece of smart jewellery that tracks stress, activity, sleep, and reproductive health through a combination of smart algorithms that interpret data from the accelerometer, the app itself, and medical research.
When you start breathing very fast for no apparent reason, Leaf knows that you are under stress. On an average, we breathe about 12-20 times every minute while at rest. So, when this frequency shoots up suddenly, the device will know that you are stressed. In such cases, it will vibrate to ask you to calm down. The accompanying app has content that will tell you ways of reducing stress levels with breathing exercises and also give tips on being more relaxed. It will help you identify patterns and figure out the times when you are most stressed.
The device cannot track a woman’s reproductive cycles mechanically. But, you can use the app to keep a tab on your cycle. Much like Clue and other period tracking apps, the Leaf companion app will let you know when your period’s coming up or the best time to try to get pregnant.
The Leaf is not dainty. It is, in fact, a quirky and pretty piece of jewellery. The device’s versatility is the best part about its design. You can wear it as a bracelet on the leather strap that comes in the box, on a chain around your neck (the chain also comes in the box), or as a clip – on that slips on to just about any part of your clothing. If you don’t want people to see it, you can wear it on your underwear, on a pocket, or on a waistband.
Bellabeat is positioning it as more than a Fitbit in terms of both style and functionality. It’s a piece of jewellery, and a piece of tech. The Leaf also happens to cost less than Ringly, another piece of smart jewellery, which offers much less functionality for $195 and up.
To make the Leaf even more appealing to women who want a no-fuss wearable experience, Bellabeat popped in a replaceable coin cell battery that lasts 6 months before it needs changing. That, in itself, is a step up from most wearables, especially those with power hungry screens.
You can buy the device for $119 from their site https://www.bellabeat.com
