6 Affordable Brookstone Gadgets To Help You Relax

These days, people are exposed to a constant stream of stimulation, whether it's in the form of notifications on their mobile phones or access to never-ending bad news on social media. It's no wonder that staying calm and happy is becoming a full-time challenge for many people and that many Americans are having sleep problems and experiencing significantly more stress than before, according to Gallup. While stress is a normal part of life (and a necessary thing for growth), Mayo Clinic shares that chronic stress can lead to a cocktail of health problems that range from slightly inconveniencing muscle tension to lethal heart attacks. Because of this, it's becoming increasingly important to invest in staying relaxed for better overall health.

In the past, we've talked about how Google Home can generate ambient sounds and the different gadgets for better sleep, which our team has tried and tested. But if you're looking for a single place to get a bunch of things meant to help you relax, Brookstone also offers several gadget options for you to choose from, which cover a range of budgets. With over half a century of history, Brookstone transitioned from selling things via catalog to a well-known retailer for a broad range of unique items. But they didn't stop with just selling items; Brookstone also began manufacturing some of them. Here are a few that you might want to get for yourself (or someone you love) for a more relaxing life.

These days, sleepmaxxing is in, and people are increasingly putting getting good sleep at the top of their priority lists. Depending on the season and where you live, the ideal steps to optimize sleep can vary. But, if you're in the middle of winter and snow is building up on your driveway, a Brookstone heated plush blanket might be the perfect addition to your bedroom. Available in two colors (gray and taupe), it comes in four sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, and King. 

As with the name, the essence of this product is the soft, plush fabric, but it also comes with a remote control that lets you adjust the temperature to your preferred warmth with 10 heat settings or set a timer. Apart from its 12-hour automatic shut-off period, it's also machine washable, so pet owners or parents of young children don't need to worry about nighttime accidents.

For those concerned about safety (as we should with anything that generates heat and could cause a fire), Brookstone does share that its blanket is also ETL certified, which means it passes the necessary safety standards set by North America. While it's not exactly cheap at $79.99, you can also get Brookstone's plush blanket in four installments for less than $20 via Klarna. But before you jump into the heated plush blanket, don't forget to set up your iPhone quiet hours or sleep mode on your Android phone so that you can hide away from the world in peace.

For athletes, percussion massagers can mean the difference between being able to walk in two or five days after an intense workout. However, UCLA shares that percussive therapy has other benefits, including releasing muscle tension that you can get even from your daily activities. While we've mentioned massage guns before on our lists for game-changing fitness gadgets, Brookstone offers an option that cools and heats on top of the percussive movement with its cordless hot & cold percussion massager.

Apart from its cold and hot head, the Brookstone percussion massager has a precision head, forkhead, round head, and flat head. Because of its cordless design and rubber-coated grip, it's a convenient way to get into all the right spots and relax your muscles without worrying about keeping it plugged. The percussion massager is also available in two colors: Black and blue. To charge its reusable batteries, it uses a standard USB-C cable, and you can choose up to six different levels of intensity through an LCD screen. 

Brookstone shares that it can go up to 3,800 percussion per minute. On the Brookstone website, the hot & cold percussion manager sells for $119, but if it's a little too pricey for you, Klarna also offers it for $24.99 for four-month installments. If a heating and cooling function isn't a deal-breaker for you, the TheraGun Mini Massage Gun is also a pretty popular option that makes our list of the best holiday travel tech accessories.

In some cases, you may have a knot so deep into a hard-to-reach corner of your back that the usual massage gun might fall short. Thankfully, the Brookstone handheld dual head percussion massager is made just for those moments. With its long, elongated design, this dual head percussion massager offers a unique method of gripping and reaching those hard-to-target portions of your body that the typical massage gun won't be able to reach. With this, you don't need to ask a friend or family member to help you target your tight shoulder blades.

The massager's dual head design can give you double the coverage for relaxation and pain relief, as well as options for mixing and matching heads. Brookstone's dual head massager has different heads from your typical massage gun, which include an intensive head, acupoint head, acupuncture massage head, and curved head. Although it doesn't have cold functions, it does have a heat mechanism and four different modes. 

Plus, it has an LCD display, so you're not left guessing when it comes to the timer. Lastly, it is half the price of Brookstone's hot and cold massage gun at $59.99, with options for installment. But if you prefer something a little bit cheaper, a highly-rated option on Amazon is the Homedics Percussion Action Massager. With an average rating of 4.4 stars from over 18,000 buyers on Amazon, a lot of people think its $49.99 price tag is worth it.

In a world where we're constantly hunching and looking down at our phones, it's unsurprising that chronic neck and shoulder pain isn't all too uncommon. In addition, even healthy, athletic people can benefit from gadgets designed to relax tired muscles, like targeted Shiatsu massagers. If this rings true for you, one option you can consider is the Brookstone Shiatsu neck and shoulder massager, which can help you relax and get some much-needed tension relief. 

Priced at $79.99, this model has two "arms" that are designed to curve around your neck. In partnership with NFL star Christian McCaffrey, this particular Brookstone massager has over a dozen Shiatsu nodes designed to help relax everything from your neck to the lower back. Although it only has one speed, it does have a heating mechanism and capacity for deep kneading massages.

Alternatively, Brookstone has a more expensive variant that is available on Amazon. At $359.99, Brookestone's higher-end Shiatsu neck and back massager has an average of 4.1 stars from over 400 reviewers. While having fewer Shiatsu nodes than the cheaper option, it does have two modes: Auto-reversing and single direction. Similarly, it also has a heat function and can be adjusted to hit the right spots. Previously, we've also included a similar item on our list of gadgets that can help you manage your anxiety.

For some people, massages can feel a little too intense, especially in sensitive areas like your neck. In some cases, a hot or cold compress may be better to help manage your specific kind of pain, as well as put you into a more relaxed mood. If this is the case for you, consider adding the Brookstone Thera-Spa neck and shoulder wrap to your cart. Available in two colors, gray and black, you can use the Thera-Spa neck wrap for hot and cold therapy.  With just half a cup of water, you can opt to either add warm water to the plastic bag or add room-temperature water and freeze it for a cooling effect. 

Previously, we've mentioned that weighted blankets have actually been proven to help people sleep better, and the Brookstone wrap also has beads inside to add some weight that gives the same effect. Additionally, the neck wrap comes infused with a lavender scent, which has been known to make people more relaxed. 

With a $18.99, over 400 people have given the Brookstone Thera-Space neck and shoulder wrap an average of four stars on Amazon. To feel even more relaxed, you might want to get the Brookstone eye mask, which can also offer both compression and aromatherapy for your eyes. At only $9.99, more than 50 buyers have rated it 4.4 stars on Amazon. Available in three colors, the mask itself can be used for blackout purposes and eye treatment.

Another item endorsed by the NFL star, the Brookstone X Christian McCaffrey Shiatsu foot & calf massager is for everyone who has the tendency to wake up in the middle of the night with cramped calves. Selling for $279.99, this particular massager is great for relaxing legs after a long flight, walking around for work, or standing up for long periods. Using air compression and built-in heating, it has two different massage models at multiple intensity levels that can let you experience deep kneading massages. And one underrated feature? You can easily remove the liners for washing, so it doesn't end up smelling like feet after several uses.

That said, the company also offers another foot-focused massager: The Brookstone 360 Air Pressure Foot Massager. A little bit cheaper at $149.99, the device uses air compression that goes up to 3 pressure levels. Designed specifically for ankle tension and chronic foot pain, it also has heat therapy features and a built-in timer. So, if the area that is keeping you from feeling relaxed is your feet, the air pressure massager might be better. 

On the other hand, if you prefer something a little more old school, Brookstone also offers a foot roller massager on Amazon for a significantly cheaper price at only $19.99. Great for treating symptoms of plantar fasciitis and sore or tired feet, the Brookstone foot roller massager has an average rating of 4.6 stars from more than 120 buyers.

The reason why we're unable to relax can depend on a multitude of factors, such as having poor sleep, being physically sore, or even just mental distress. Because of this, there's no one type of gadget or solution for everyone. When making this list, we considered both the preventive and reactive ways of dealing with different stressors. 

Next, we looked into the different products in the Brookstone portfolio that can address these different concerns through things like pressure therapy, percussion therapy, and aromatherapy. Then, we looked into other products that can augment the relaxation experience in their unique way, both in and out of the Brookstone product line.

That said, we're also excited about all the creative ways technology will continue to be used to create even more relaxing moments. Just a couple of years ago, Esqapes Massage Center launched its VR-integrated massage experience. But as technology progresses, we're likely only going to get more options in the future. In recent times, there has also been a rise in everything from meditation apps to wearable technology designed to vibrate at a frequency made to lull you to bed.