When you adopt a whole foods, natural, AVOID THE TOXINS, live as nature intended, can-I- just-be-a-cavegirl?-(not) lifestyle, you begin acquiring a lot of weird gadget/life hack objects. Unlike most weird gadget/life hack objects which end up forgotten relics of a technological age long past (here’s looking at you iCybie, AKA: my surrogate AIBO), these newfound tidbits surpass mere pastime, to instead integrate into your very being. You use them daily, and forget what it was like when you weren’t a cultural anomaly. So without further adieu, here are 7 Paleo-inspired weird things I use everyday, without a second thought.
Wake-Up Light Clock: Why awake to a blaring alarm clock, when you can wake up to light? Yes. Light. 30 minutes or so before your desired wake-up time, the Philips Wake-Up Light (which looks like a giant cartoon idea of a lightbulb) begins slowly illuminating, simulating the rising sun. By your actual desired wake-up time, the clock reaches full daytime brightness. Good morning sunshine, the earth says hello!
Money Spent: $129.95 Gained: A New Dawn
Light Lamp: Continuing with the light theme, I also have a super bright lig
ht which helps regulate circadian rhythm. Calculated bright light exposure for 10-15 minutes or so in the morning mimics sunlight, sadly sacrificed by our indoor lives. This helps boost alertness and reset your internal clock. You can also use it for lighting self-tapes, just saying.
Money Spent: $69.99 Gained: A New Day
“Squatty Potty”: The squatty potty is the reason I’m writing this post. I was looking at it just now, admiring its lovely aesthetics while thinking “Hmm…. I use this thing like it’s not even a thing…” and then immediately sprinted to my computer with POST INSPIRATION. (Materializing here.) If ever you were in search of the perfect yule log for the porcelain god, this may be a nice way to get there.
The purpose of the squatty potty is to properly align your colon for easier defecation. Yes, I just said that. Ya see, modern use of toilets doesn’t align (quite literally) with how nature intended things to go down (again, quite literally.) In the good ol’ days, we’d shamelessly squat in nature to do our business, creatin
g a nice dispatch tunnel. By sitting on a toilet, we create an annoying kink, blocking the flow. The squatty potty fixes things by letting you simultaneously sit and squat. Oh hey!
Note: I previously used the actual Squatty Potty brand of Squatty Potty, but then I found the easyGopro offshoot which came in pink. Enough said.
Money Spent: $22.99
Gained: Happier Poops
Shower Filter: If you l
ook closely enough at my shower head (because lots of people do that), you might notice an odd contraption. This, my friends, is a shower filter. Turns out there’s a lot of nasty chemicals and stuff in our water which potentially enter your system every time you bathe. And unlike water you drink, which at least goes through the filters of your digestive tract, shower water has pretty easy access to your system. Say goodbye to chlorine, heavy metals, and sensitivities, and hello to happier skin and body!
Money Spent: $34.95 Gained: Refreshing Non-Toxic Shower
Acupuncture Mat: When writing at my computer, I sit on a bed of needles. Well sort of. It’s actually a mat (Spoonk brand) with sharp plastic pointy things. Which you sit on. They don’t look that sharp in the picture, but they pack a pretty sting. No I’m not a masochist (I don’t think?) The idea here is that the points stimulate your pain receptors and fight or flight response. But when you keep sitting on them, your body figures out that everything is actually ok, and then enters the relaxed, parasympathetic state. It also floods your body with endorphins and instigates healing. Works for me!
Money Spent: $54.27 Gained: Endorphins & Healing
Orange Goggles: When I get off work and the sun goes down, on go the orange goggles. Always. It’s just a thing. On the off chance I need to go to the store after putting them on (oh hey late night cravings!), I still keep them on. (A nice thing about LA, is people just really don’t care.) Wearing orange goggles at night is key for blocking out blue spectrum light emitted from light fixtures and electronics. Blue spectrum light tells your body to be awake (WAKE UP NOW!), and blocks melatonin production. This messes with your sleep, and helps no one. Wearing orange goggles can bring you back to a more natural sleep rhythm, and minimize damage from electronic use. I cannot recommend these enough. Like really. Super cheap and super life changing.
Money Spent: $8.99 Gained: A New Night
Earthing Mat: As I tuck myself into bed for the night, my feet creep from beneath the covers, finding their way to a peculiar looking black mat with a cord attached. If one were to investigate this mat, they’d see it was plugged into the wall, and seemingly does…. nothing. Yet it’s so much more than that!
Earthing mats serve to ground ourselves. The idea is that our constantly insulated and technology-ridden lives create a buildup of free radicals and radiation in the body, encouraging stress and inflammation. By touching an earthing mat, you drain this radiation and receive the benefits of the earth’s electrons and being “grounded.” I’ve found the mat has improved my sleep and sense of well being.
Money Spent: $60.00 Gained: The Earth
