Ask HN: Which product have you purchased that increased your wellbeing?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35776409

by atentaten • 3 years ago

17 24 3 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Which product or service have you purchased that increased your well being to a noticeable level?

A smartphone with a 120 Hz screen.

I am addicted to my phone like most people, so that smooth, smooth frame rate really makes a difference when you have 8h average screen time every single day.

Venkatesh10• 3 years ago

Which phone are you using?

226_ebro_treaty2• 3 years ago

Poco X4 pro

sds357• 3 years ago

A new modern full suspension mountain bike. One of the only enjoyable ways to exercise that I will do regularly and look forward to.

Someone1234• 3 years ago

A standing desk and a "premium" chair (Steelcase Leap).

A lot of people I talk to about spending $800-1K on a chair rebuke the very idea; while they themselves are on their second or third IKEA MARKUS ($300/per); while offering a far worse user experience in the interim. Depending on where you live, there's also an unusually large supply on the used market due to telecommutting.

There's a saying: "Spend money on what separates you from the ground." Meaning shoes, beds, and chairs. But I'd also say a desk that is supporting your hands, wrists, and arms should maybe count. Standing desks can help a lot with sitting too long in one position, in particular if your work has times when you don't need to type you can switch to a non-traditional handheld mouse (e.g. ELECOM Relacon), and stand more naturally.

YMMV of course.

thorin• 3 years ago

I have an Ikea chair (it might be the Markus) and an Ikea manual standing desk, although it's been in sitting mode so far. What advantages do you feel you get from the more expensive chair. I've been having some muscle issues around the lower back which have been causing a lot of pain so thinking of moving to standing mode, but currently I just get up every 20-30 mins and do some stretching.

pipodeclown• 3 years ago

I think you can sit all day on a shitty chair as long as you do some strenght training to ensure your spine is sufficiently stabilised. Only time I got some back aches was during Covid when the gyms were closed for half a year.

xu3u32• 3 years ago

A Garmin watch. Went from running rarely with no goal or plan in mind to running 20-30 miles a week consistently. The built-in running plans are great have coached me to multiple half marathon and 10k PRs. I've lost more than 60 lbs as well.

mahogany• 3 years ago

I always start running semi-regularly for a few weeks and then stop. I'd love to be more consistent about it, so this sounds enticing. What about the watch made you run more consistently? Was it that the built-in plans gave you motivation by having a concrete goal?

poo-yie• 3 years ago

Probably the single purchase that's had the greatest impact for me was my Bose noise-cancelling headphones. That was quite a while back, as they're the QC-15. However, they still work great and I still use them often.

jimswhims2• 3 years ago

Yeah, noise can have a detrimental effect on wellbeing. I've never tried active noise cancelling headphones but my 3M Peltor X5A headset earmuffs are a lifesaver.

They're big and not the best for very extended periods, but when you need some relief from a noisy environment for a while they really help.

MH152• 3 years ago

Apple Watch. Any watch with sleep and workout tracking would do (Garmin, Fitbit, etc). I primarily purchased the watch to help track my sleep and was shocked by just how bad my sleep habits were. I've improved my sleep patterns, increasing my average time asleep from 6:30 to 7:30 in two months.

A few added bonuses: the app I use for weightlifting (https://www.hevyapp.com/) has an Apple Watch mode, freeing me from my phone during workouts. I can also use the watch to track runs, as mentioned by the commenter in this thread with the Garmin Watch.

switch007• 3 years ago

I know nothing about Apple Watches but I know my sleep quality has plummeted recently. Does the watch just accurately track time asleep, and then you tried improving that number via various different thing? Or does it do anything more clever to help you fix your sleep?

MH152• 3 years ago

That's correct. The built-in functionality is relatively primitive, but it's been enough for me so far. I do know people who use the Apple Watch with more advanced third-party apps but haven't had the need yet.

runjake• 3 years ago

- A refurb Vitamix 5200

- A Garmin watch, and I'd reluctantly also say an Apple Watch (HRM, SpO2, ECG).

- A bicycle

- A comfortable pillow and mattress

- A CO2 monitor. I discovered my house regularly has very high levels of CO2 (2500+). We now open windows whenever we can and turn on the circulation fan.

baremetal• 3 years ago

A Vitamix will improve your life, I agree.

uptownfunk• 3 years ago

Love my daily smoothie!!

ZYZ64738• 3 years ago

A yogamat

jimswhims2• 3 years ago

Instant Pot pressure cooker - Great for stews, can do big batches of beans and lentils, brown rice, chickpeas for hummus etc. You can save a lot of money and packaging buying dried beans and soaking them.

Air fryer - Handy for french fries, roasting a couple of peppers, reheating food like pizza slices turns out better than the microwave.

hayst4ck• 3 years ago

Personal trainer for resistance training. Nothing even comes close.

aadames• 3 years ago

A light therapy lamp to help set my circadian rhythm in the morning. I got a used NorthStar 10,000 off ebay for $100. Highly recommend if you're not a morning person. Hits better than coffee if you ask me.

ezedv• 3 years ago

I've been using TranscribeMe a lot recently! It's a bot that converts voice notes to text, it's for WhatsApp and Telegram https://transcribeme.app It's great for those who don't like voice notes, haha!

gadders• 3 years ago

A dog. Makes me walk 1.5 miles most days of the week. Plus all the affection etc.

idontwantthis• 3 years ago

A used electric piano. $300, sounds great to my ear and it's a joy to learn to play a musical instrument.

Ask HN: Which product have you purchased that increased your wellbeing?

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