By Andrew Liszewski
I guess you can think of the Stress Eraser as the paper bag for the 21st century. They both use controlled breathing exercises to help calm you down but the Stress Eraser is the only one that’s FDA regulated. The handheld device uses an LCD screen to guide you through a series of breathing exercises that are designed to relax your body and calm your mind. You basically synchronize your own breathing pattern with the ‘Breath Waves’ that are displayed on the screen. Apparently this will then stimulate specific nerves in your body that can produce a calming effect.
To make sure it’s actually working you can place your finger in the pulse sensor on top which will measure your heartbeat during the breathing exercises. You’re then assigned a session score which will let you know if the particular ‘Breath Wave’ actually helped reduce your stress or if you need to try a different one.
Personally I find the best way to avoid stress is to just live a life of complete apathy. But then again if your stress derives from trying to keep that nuclear reactor core stable then maybe you should actually avoid the apathy approach and go with the Stress Eraser instead. It’s currently available from firstSTREET for $299.
