More Ways to Use Technology to Reduce Stress

Way back in March, I wrote this post about how I use technology to reduce my stress.  Since then, I've found some more ways to make technology work for me, so I thought It was time for another posting.  For my anniversary this year, my husband upgraded my phone from a clunky old Blackberry that had no data plan to an iPhone.  At first, I wasn't too sure about this because really, all I need a phone to do is make phone calls, and then, only when it's important.  Otherwise, I really don't use  a cellular phone.  Or, I should say, I didn't use a cellular phone before he bought me this one. 




One of the things I am having fun with is the applications (aka apps).  I played around a bit with the free apps and found this great one called SleepMachine.  It is a program that plays different ambient noises and you can add up to three different sounds together and adjust the volume on each one until you find the perfect blend for you.  I used it when we were spending time at my parents' house because our air conditioner was broken during the heat wave.  I set the timer on the program for 30 minutes, closed my eyes and I was out.  I didn't hear it turn off any night while I was there.  For someone like me who tends to be a chronically poor sleeper, this has been a huge help.  I went from having trouble falling asleep every night to falling asleep within a few minutes of getting into bed.  What a treat.  I liked the app so much I bought the full version of it.  The extra sounds and music have been a big help.  There have only been a couple nights that I've had to extend the play time on the ambient sounds when I've been overly stressed and needed some extra time to fall asleep.  It's amazing how much a good night's sleep helps keeping stress levels in check.  {edit: I forgot to mention that we've used this to help the kids fall asleep when they are having trouble sleeping and it totally worked!}

My other favourite app?  (besides getting my Twitter updates whenever I want them).  Geocaching!  I was familiar with this application already because I had signed up to geocaching.com before, but I didn't have a GPS that I could use.  Now I can geocache from my phone.  Geocaching is basically a real world treasure hunt with clues that you find online.  You get the co-ordinates from the site and plug them into your GPS, then go out and find where it is hidden. Usually a cache is a camoflauged container with a log book and some small items in it for trading. We've tried geocaching a couple of times as a familiy now. One time we found the cache, one time we didn't. Both times we had a lot of fun. We got outside and got some exercise as a family. It was a lot of fun and getting out together brings us closer together and helps to reduce stress in all of us.