5 Health Technologies That We're Really Excited About

So in the spirit of science, progress, and wellness, here are six new technologies that we're really excited about:

Natural Cycles is a natural family-planning app that works by tracking your daily temperature fluctuations, symptoms, and cycle length and activity. It's been certified as a contraceptive method, and studies have put its effectiveness in the same pool as the birth control pill. As a completely natural and side-effect-free way to prevent pregnancy and get in touch with your body, apps like Natural Cycles very well might represent the future of birth control.

Did you know that back pain is one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor? It's true! And recently, the American College of Physicians recently changed their guidelines on back pain to discourage the use of painkillers—which have been shown to be ineffective and often lead to addiction. Luckily, technologies like Kaia, a digital therapy for back-pain prevention and self-management, is picking up the slack. It will educate you on your back pain and provide you with physical exercises and mindfulness techniques to get you feeling better—STAT.

Going to therapy can be time-consuming, expensive, and inconvenient. And let's be honest, treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) really require more than a single one-hour session each week to be effective. Luckily, clinical research psychologist Dr. Alison Darcy is aiming to solve this problem. She developed a robot, affectionately called Woebot, that delivers personalized CBT through an app on your phone or computer. Woebot will ask you about your day, help you unpack your feelings, and give you personalized support when you need it most.

Biofeedback techniques use technology to give you real-time measurements on things like your heart rate, palm temperature, and brain waves—training you to use your thoughts to manipulate your physical body. WellBe is a bracelet and an app that keeps track of your heart-rate variability (an accurate measure of bodily stress). It will rank your daily stress levels but also keeps track of the specific locations and times of day that tend to trigger higher stress levels—improving you with mindfulness exercises and personalized meditations.

Need more information before you ditch your birth control pill for an app? Get the full scoop here.