3 ways Google products can help you feel less stressed

Sweaty palms. Pounding heart. Red face. We’ve all experienced signs of stress — whether it’s for something we’re looking forward to, like a first date, or something more daunting, like a big test or a tight deadline. Stress is a normal, and sometimes challenging, part of our lives. So when it pops up, it’s important we know how to safely monitor, understand and manage it.

For National Stress Awareness Month, we’re sharing three ways Google products and features can help you better understand and manage your stress levels — from alerting you to signs of stress to sharing personalized tips for a better night’s sleep.

1. Learn how your body responds to stress

While shortness of breath or knots in your stomach are pretty obvious signs of acute stress (otherwise known as “in-the-moment stress”), others associated with chronic stress can be harder to recognize. Fitbit’s Body Response feature on Sense 2 eliminates the guesswork. It continuously measures heart rate, heart rate variability, skin temperature and electrodermal activity (tiny electrical changes on your skin) to recognize physical signs of stress and alert you when they happen. You can then log your mood directly on your Sense 2 or within the Fitbit app, and use your device to take action right away — like with a quick breathing exercise in the Relax app or a mindfulness exercise in Fitbit Premium.

Fitbit’s other stress management features can also help you learn how your body responds to different experiences. Fitbit Premium’s Daily Readiness Score takes into account your recent activity, sleep and heart rate variability — all of which can be affected when you’re stressed — and shares recommendations. For instance, it might suggest you take a rest day, with restorative activities like walking or stretching, instead of doing an intense workout.

2. Improve your sleep quality

Sleep and stress are closely related: If you’ve had a stressful day, you probably won’t sleep soundly that night… which makes you more vulnerable to stress the next day. If you’re caught in that endless cycle, try setting a bedtime reminder on your Fitbit device. These reminders can help you wind down and lower your stress levels with prompts like meditating before bed.

Sleep Profile, available with Fitbit Premium for Google Pixel Watch and Fitbit users, also shares monthly insights into your sleep patterns and suggestions to help you get a better night’s rest. Don’t like wearing something on your wrist at night? Nest Hub (2nd Gen) with Sleep Sensing uses motion and sound to monitor your sleep, and offers advice based on your patterns — like suggesting breathing exercises or reflective journaling before bed. It can also help you fall asleep and wake up more easily with automatic routines such as display dimming in the evening and Sunrise Alarm in the morning.

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