TECH CHARGE OF YOUR WELLNESS

FOR MORE THAN a year, Vaijanthi Dharaswamy was tackling sleepless nights due to anxiety -bottling emotions while pushing through mindfulsessions-but nothing seemed to work.

- VAISHALI DAR

"My head was filled with negative thoughts like losing my job or meeting an accidenteven though work was excellent and there was no imminent danger to my life whatsoever. Taming my inner demons was becoming a daily battle," quips the 32-yearold IT professional from Gurugram.

And then, a chance meeting with some people in a meditation group led her to Calm, an app that offers sleep resources, as well as meditation and mindfulness exercises. Using it over the following six months, Dharaswamy was not only able to self-evaluate her life goals through a variety of content offerings, including sleep stories, mood and gratitude check-ins, and exercises, but also transform her mental/ physical health by journalling her sleep patterns, and incorporating guided meditations.

"Sessions like 'step aside from computer' or 'reducing work anxiety' have encouraged me to constantly keep tabs on my body-getting enough sleep, eating anti-inflammatory diets, taking a brief walk around the office, and so on. This app has helped me to take care of myself by transforming my mental and physical well-being. It's like a life coach but without having to visit an expert in person or spending long hours in queues," she adds.

In recent years, there has been a notable surge in people's awareness to adopt healthy lifestyle habits and attain physical as well as mental wellbeing. Businesses, both big companies as well as startups, have also been quick to cash in on the technological innovations that promote wellness and resolve everyday health concerns.

No wonder, the global wearable healthcare devices market is all set to grow to $114.8 billion by 2033, as per market research firm Spherical Insights & Consulting.