The Pip Stress Management tool is unlike the other wellbeing products on the market today. While it is still a tool for learning how to take charge of your stress levels you don’t wear it like other products.  Instead you hold the Pip when you want it to measure your levels of stress, or when you want to sync it to one of the many apps that it is compatible with.

How it Works

Because this is a wellbeing device that you do not wear it is not very obvious how it could work. When you want to use the Pip you have to hold it in between your forefinger and your thumb, they must be placed firmly on the gold plated sensors that are on each side of the device. Unlike other products like the Fitbit, this invention doesn’t measure steps, instead it measures electrodermal activity, which is basically the sweat glands that are controlled by your nervous system, which are related to the activation of the presence of any stress you may be incurring. With this technology the Pip can measure and report on three states of activities; stress events, relax events, and steady events. The device syncs to a smartphone and is compatible with 5 different apps that are available in the app store.

The 5 Apps

• Clarity: This app is a relaxation app that has guided exercises that use audio to induce stress free time. When using this app you either need a set of headphones or a nice quiet and secluded area so you can hear the different resonances that this app offers. There are three different soundscapes you can choose form to relax; a forest rainstorm, waves crashing on a beach, or the sounds of sitting at a park bench. As you are listening, and holding the device, the volume of the sounds change as your stress either increases or decreases. 
• The Loom: This app uses both audio and visual features. This app has the same idea as clarity but instead of just soundscapes it also uses pictures of landscapes, which there are also three to choose from; a winter landscape transforming into spring, a sunrise over a mountain range, or a forest changing from moonlight to sunlight. The Loom app is a little different when it comes to the duration of the sessions, instead of choosing a time limit, the time depends on how stressed out you are, the quicker you destress, the sooner the session is completed.
• Relax and Race: This app is like a game and a stress tracker in one. Instead of putting you into a serene environment it puts you into a stressful one. Again three is the lucky number when it comes to choosing from the different scenes; a dragon race, a balloon race, or an underwater race. The idea of these races is to get your stress level up so the app can teach you how to stay calm and focuses. A bonus about this app is that if you are with someone else who has a Pip you can two player and race them instead of the computer.
• The Stress Tracker: This app provides you with visual results of your stress level in data form. The two words “Relaxed” and “Stressed” appear on the screen while the font size determines if you are more of one than the other. The idea of this app is to be able to remain stress free outside of using this device and the apps that it is compatible with.
• My Pip: This app is the mother of all the apps combined. It takes the results that are rallied from the other apps about your stress level management and compiles them into one cloud based application.

Design

The relaxing and meditative design starts at the packaging. The white cardboard is stenciled with jovial images, like rainbows and flowers. When you open the box inside you will find a small tear drop shaped product that has two gold plated sensors on each side. These sensors are plated in gold to prevent from tarnishing after many uses. A LED light appears on one side letting you know when the device is turned on and if it is connected. If you leave the Pip idle for a couple of minutes it will shut off automatically.

Troubleshooting/Customer Support

While the product comes with a starter guide that can walk you through the set up process and details about the product. But if you want the 7 day user guide you have to go online to get this. The user guide is very helpful in understanding how to use the product and in detailed summaries of each app that is compatible with the device.

Pros

This out of the box stress tracker is one of the first products I have seen that you don’t have to wear the product all day for it to work, instead it takes just minutes of your time to be able to record your stress level, of course that means you won’t get a full day reading of results, but there are advantages to having the Pip device.

• Android and iOS Compatible
• Attractive design
• Multiple apps

Cons

Even though there are many different apps that allow you to sync your Pip to, to measure multiple aptitudes of stress, the Pip has some downfalls to being a stress management product in today’s thriving technological market.

• Does not come with a power adapter
• Not a wearable
• Confusing data interpretation

I personally think that this is a good product to use if you just need to measure your stress level and want to learn how to manage it and calm down. The different apps that are compatible with this device makes it easy to personalize your experience, your choose of apps also lets you fully benefit from the device based on how you learn best. The only real downfall of this product is that it is not a wearable, meaning you have to have time in your day to use it to get the full capabilities out of it. Other than that, overall this app will definitely teach you how to manage the stressfulness of your life.