Lifestyle
Top 20 New Year Gifts for Stressed-Out Folks
The new year is a blank slate, a time to kickstart all those new plans swimming around in your head. Still, after the holiday season and working hard year-round, many people are spent. If you’re looking to get a gift for the go-getter in your life who’s a bit burnt out, this is the gift guide for you. Help them accomplish their new year goals while getting some R&R at the same time.
1. Stress Wearable
Wearable technology is making amazing strides. Not only can you track your vitals during a workout – now you can track how well you slept or how calm your nervous system is. There are countless ones on the market like Apollo, WHOOP, and Rise Science Sleep Tracker. If you know someone who wants to get a hold of their sleep cycles and daily stress levels, a wearable can provide support.
2. Linens
There’s something about quality sheets that just makes everything ok again. After a long day of work and stress, flopping down on luxurious sheets is certainly better than flopping down on old, uncomfortable ones. These sheets are light and breezy and made to last.
3. Meditation App Subscription
Meditation is a good habit with tons of research-backed benefits. But it’s also a practice – the more you do, the better it gets. An app subscription is a great way to support someone while gently encouraging them to stick to good habits.
4. Good Tea
Anybody can buy themselves tea from the grocery store. That’s why when you’re giving a gift, you gotta go for top-shelf tea. It’s perfect for someone who’s trying to rely less on coffee or someone who just loves good tea in the winter.
5. Journal
Like meditation, journaling is often touted as a must-do daily self-development practice. But it’s easy to forget or get bored writing the same old stuff. Journals can be fit to match the individual. There are dream journals, goal-setting journals, gratitude journals, bullet journals, etc. The Best Journal Ever has a bit of everything, which makes it a great gift.
6. White Noise Machine
Most people are particular about how they like to fall asleep – eg. total darkness vs nightlight, watching tv vs silence. If you know someone who sleeps much better with subtle background noise, they’ll love you for this gift. White noise isn’t especially disturbing, so even if they’re bunking with silence lovers, they might not mind.
7. Decision-Making Wheel
An often-forgotten element of being stressed is decision fatigue. Even if we’re not working very hard physically, our brains may feel like they’re on fire after a day of decisions. Research estimates that the average person makes over 30,000 choices per day – likely much more than we had to make in the old days. This decision-maker tool can serve as a joke gift or even a real tool for the recipient to rely on. Boards are customizable so users can quickly decide what they’re having for dinner, what activity to do next, etc.
8. Quality Blanket
Weighted blankets, heated blankets, jumbo blankets, furry blankets – There’s no limit to the ways you can destress with a blanket. This blanket is touted by Puffy as the “softest blanket ever.” We’ll let you be the judge. Your recipient gets a 101-day trial (and a lifetime warranty should anything go fatally wrong with your Puffy blanket).
9. Sensory Deprivation Kit
Stress relief products are often focused around the senses – aromatherapy candles, warm blankets, back massagers. But this is quite the opposite. By depriving our senses of any input, we can actually enter a state of profound rest. If there isn’t a float tank in your area, this float kit is the next best thing.
10. Blue Light Glasses
Nowadays, life is lived via screens. Between office work, online education, social media, and dating apps, more and more elements of our lives are being digitized. Whether you think this is good or bad, your eyes are probably not so excited about it. Blocking blue light is one way to make screen time less irritating on the eyes. These ones by Goodr are affordable and get the job done.
11. Spa in a Box Set
A lot of people resist the idea of a spa day, but that’s a surefire indicator that they probably need one. For the spa-hesistant friend or family member, a spa-in-a-box will do the trick. This will allow them to get comfortable pampering themselves without a stranger putting cucumbers on their eyes.
12. Lavender Eye Mask
What’s better than blindfolding yourself and drifting off to sleep? Doing it with the relaxing scent of lavender, of course. These lavender sleep masks put you in the zone for relaxation.
13. Yin Yoga Pillow
It’s important to remember that yoga doesn’t always have to be an intense workout. For the yoga-lover in your life, encourage them to practice restorative positions with a yin yoga bolster. It allows you to deepen various stretches while getting some cushioned support.
14. Chill the F Out Supplement
This Apothekary supplement is making waves around the internet as the answer to everyone’s prayers. For the health nut or natural medicine lover in your life, this is a good bet. The powder contains reishi and ashwagandha, both known for their medicinal properties.
15. Massager
Massagers aren’t the sort of thing you buy for yourself. It’s the kind of thing you don’t think you need until you get one and find yourself using it constantly. Massagers have come a long way and this RAEMAO got a solid 5 stars on Amazon – an achievement indeed.
16. Tea Tree Oil Foot Soak
Combining the tingly, soothing feel of tea tree on your skin with a warm footbath? Genius. This is the perfect stocking stuffer for someone who’s always complaining about their sore feet.
17. Therapy Dough
This essential oil-infused play dough isn’t marketed to kids. It’s for stressed-out adults who want to relive a bit of childhood glee. This gift is great for chronic fidgeters or anyone who needs a little stress relief technique to keep at their work desk.
18. Muscle Rub
There are those who need muscle ointment and those who NEED muscle ointment. In any case, once you apply it, you’ll be in heaven. Chronically sore and achy muscles are soothed in just minutes. Again, a perfect stocking stuffer for hard workers who need some R&R.
19. Bath Bombs
You’re either a bath bomb person or you’re totally not. If you know a bath bomb enthusiast, this is the ideal gift for them.
20. Ax Throwing Kit
If the soothing suggestions above don’t quite cut the tension, a round of ax-throwing should do the trick. It’s perfect for those who prefer more rugged stress relief techniques. Just remember to teach the recipient some safety precautions before handing over this gift.
And for other gift ideas, check out more here at Owner’s Mag!