Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

12 Essential Items to Stay Healthy

We invest in so many things throughout our lives; think cars, houses, jewelry, even kitchen appliances. But, perhaps the most essential of all are the items that have the potential to improve our well-being everyday. It’s easy to be skeptical when it comes to new wellness trends and products, that’s why we have compiled a list of our favorite items to keep you in good health. Of course, you should always consult your doctor if you have a health concern and note that what works for us won’t necessarily work for you. With that being said, hopefully, you’ll be able to find one (or a few) from our list that helps you to feel happier, and more energetic and healthy.

Track your Blood Glucose in Real-Time

Levels glucose tracking app.

Ever wondered how much your glucose intake affects your health? With Levels, you can easily (and in a fun way) track your blood glucose in real time to combat a metabolic crisis and maximize your diet and exercise. Metabolism regulates your sleep, appetite, weight, and energy levels, Levels helps you maximize your metabolic health so you can live a longer, fuller, and healthier life. Fueling your body is everything, but your favorite “healthy” foods may be causing blood sugar spikes and mid-day energy crashes that hold you back from peak performance. The Levels Kit gives your phone biometric feedback through a continuous glucose monitor (that is easily and painlessly attached to your arm) to show you how your body reacts to food and exercise.

Overall, Levels helps you eat the right foods at the right times to help you optimize your fitness performance, gains, recovery, and overall mental clarity, and it also gives you a direct view into how your food and lifestyle affect your blood sugar so you can personalize your diet and optimize your metabolic health. We were fascinated to see how much our glucose can spike and drop throughout the day and we loved kicking a few habits to the curb to better regulate our glucose.

Get Better Sleep with a Customized Pillow

Pluto customizable pillow.

Pluto Pillows are custom built to your body stats, sleep style, and personal preferences. The process begins by completing a quick questionnaire on your body stats, how you sleep, and what you like. The team at Pluto Pillow then leverages data to craft the right pillow for you. Their pillows are all a modular design, crafted from a solid foam core, encased within an outer plush pillow. The core’s height and properties (such as density), all depend on your answers. The fibers in the outer cover vary in thickness and quantity from one pillow to another (also dependent on your answers). Calling all hot sleepers! We’ve got great news, your pillow surface can be made up of cooling fibers.

Their pillows are a hybrid design constructed with a foam inner core and an outer plush pillow, both unique to your individual profile. Foam provides the pillows with a supportive core, and they’ll match you with the right one. This is encased within an outer pillow that adds a soft fluff — featuring fibers that allow them to adjust thickness, length, and quantity for the type of cushioning effect you like. Their materials can combine to create over 35 variations, and the feel of the pillows can be drastically different from one another. Take the guesswork (and time) out of pillow shopping and maximize your sleep with Pluto Pillow.

De-stress with a Relaxation Drink

Zenify relaxation drink.
Zenify all-natural sparkling (not to mention absolutely delicious and borderline addicting) relaxation drink is chock-full of stress-relieving antioxidants. Zenify is all-natural and infused with natural antioxidants and is backed by research to prove its stress-relieving claims. Drinking Zenify is equivalent to drinking 25 cups of green tea…without the caffeine! It also promotes serotonin and simply tastes great. They are uniquely formulated to safely reduce stress while increasing focus, allowing you to be more alert, creative, and productive.

The brand’s zen blend of l-theanine, GABA, and glycine have been clinically shown to increase alpha waves in the brain, elevate serotonin and dopamine levels, and relieve stress without drowsiness. Don’t get it twisted though, Zenify is not an energy drink, it’s not a CBD beverage, and it will NOT make you drowsy. Zenify comes in two flavors — original and sugar-free. The main distinction between the two is that Zenify Zero is made with stevia. Picture a zen you, we like you already.

Regulate your Health and Body Temperature While You Sleep
Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover.

Never have a restless night of sleep again with Eight Sleep’s Pod Pro Cover. The cover learns your sleep patterns and adjusts the cover’s temperature throughout the night to optimize your sleep. Your individual A.I. model learns your ideal thermal environment and automatically adjusts to keep you in a deep sleep, accounting for changes in both your body and your environment. You can also set your own temperature preference profile directly from an app. With dual-zone temperature control, each side of the cover can adjust the temperature to anywhere between 55 degrees F to 110 degrees F.

You can also schedule on and off times from the app. The cover also provides individual sleep tracking on each bedside, supporting two sleepers. Metrics include sleep stages, sleep time, tosses and turns, and more. Sleepers receive daily health insights including analysis of respiratory rate, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability. The cover also comes with a built-in alarm that silently wakes up each individual with chest-level vibration and gradual temperature change. Get feedback on your sleep habits so you know how to make smarter decisions for your sleep and health.

Massage on the Go

Hypervolt

Hyperice Hypervolt GO is the ultra-lightweight (1.5 lbs.) portable massager that you desperately need in your life. The Hypervolt GO’s compact, ergonomic design helps it fit perfectly in your hand and easily in your bag so you can bring serious muscle-massaging relief with you anytime, anywhere. The Hypervolt GO is equipped with technology for a near-silent operation — meaning your music, podcast, or conversation never has to stop. The massager boasts around 2.5 hours of battery life per charge, three massage speeds, and comes with two adjustable attachments.

Relieve Headaches without Meds
man wearing a Headache relieving mask.

TheralCE RX’s headache relief cap is a game-changer. Migraines are the third most prevalent illness globally. Effectively managing the pain is crucial. The headache relief cap’s compression and cold therapies constrict blood vessels and reduce inflammation, helping mute pain signals and relieving even the most brutal headaches. The cap’s heat therapy relaxes muscles and gently cushions pressure points, melting tension into pain-free relaxation. It works on all types of headaches such as common tension, sinus, cluster, and migraines.

Get Creative with a Guided Journal
Guided journal.

Journaling is trendy and “reconnecting with yourself” is all the rage right now, but what does it mean, and does it really work? Yes, we really do think it works and we recommend starting with Exploring Me: A Guided Journal for Self-Discovery and Creative Expression. This journal uniquely combines a guided journal with a coloring book. Before you start thinking we are crazy, did you know that coloring induces the same state that meditating does? This journal sparks creativity and encourages self-discovery via thought-provoking writing prompts to expand your self-understanding and explore your perspectives. The beautiful illustrations to color help you connect with your inner child as you relax and have fun.

Support your Immunity Everyday
Athletic Greens powder.

This all-in-one daily nutritional powder is made from 75 ingredients including vitamins, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, adaptogens, antioxidants, and whole food-sourced ingredients. Athletic Greens is designed to support your body’s nutritional needs through immunity support, energy boosts, aiding in digestion, and speeding up recovery. Packets are free of GMOs, dairy, gluten, artificial colors, or sweeteners, and are keto-, paleo-, and vegan-friendly. One scoop, 8 ounces of water is all you need. A bonus is that they don’t even taste bad!

Wake Up in a Good Mood
Light alarm clock.

Instead of waking you up to an annoyingly loud noise that will most likely put you in an anxious or bad mood (though there are five different natural wake-up sounds if you insist), the Philips wake-up light simulates the sunrise to gradually wake you up. We won’t be shocked if you almost instantaneously notice a difference in your mood and energy levels.

Give Your Toes a Break
Toe spacers.

ZenToes gel toe separators are designed to provide noninvasive pain relief from bunions and overlapping toes by gently realigning and straightening your big toe. The toe spacers separate the toes, straightening the big toe to relieve pressure from the bunion. You simply slip the ring over your second toe and position the gel pad against your big toe. The gel cushion will keep your big toe in proper alignment to prevent it from overlapping or rubbing against your second toe. The flexible and washable toe ring conforms to your toes, fitting comfortably in any shoe. The toe separators can be worn during the day and/or at night to provide continuous toe pain relief. A bonus is they also be used as toe stretchers to help strengthen the big toe, which improves balance and stability to your feet.

Stimulate Pressure Points Without a Professional
man laying on an Acupressure mat.

The ProSource Fit acupressure mat uses nearly 8,000 tiny spikes that stimulate pressure points in the neck and back to naturally reduce muscle tension and back pain. You simply lie on the mat for 10-30 minutes and thousands of acupressure points will stimulate nerves and improve blood circulation for increased energy and faster muscle recovery. The cushioned foam mat is large enough to fit your full back and includes a pillow covered in acupressure points for neck support and more holistic pain relief. Lay back and relax onto this “bed of needles”!

Drink Coffee Sans Jitters

box of Mushroom coffee.

Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee is made with just half the caffeine of a regular cup of joe. Why is it worth it, you ask? Because it’s also infused with two functional mushrooms (and no it doesn’t taste like mushrooms) to support productivity, focus, and immunity. The Chaga and Lion’s Mane mushrooms give you focus so you can think, without having the inevitable caffeine crash. Mix with hot water or try it in a smoothie.

Editors' Recommendations

The 4 best fat-burning workouts for you to lose weight
Lose weight with these fantastic workouts
man doing fat-burning workout.

Losing weight and putting on some lean muscle mass is a common goal among men, and choosing the best fat-burning workouts can make it happen sooner rather than later. Adjusting your body composition can help contribute to more than just feeling confident about how you look — it could also potentially reduce your risk of metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure that comes along with excessive body fat.
When paired with a nutritious, calorie-controlled diet, exercise is a highly effective way to lose weight and burn fat. A workout burns calories and can also impact your metabolic rate. However, when it comes to fat-burning workouts and weight loss, not all forms of exercise are created equal. Certain workouts and exercises will help you torch calories and shift your metabolism into a fat-burning mode more than others, so if you have big weight loss goals, keep reading for a list of the best fat-burning workouts.

How does exercise burn fat?

Read more
These are the best workouts for beginners so you can build a solid routine
Try these beginner exercises to get started on your fitness journey
man watching workout video.

If you've never stepped foot in a gym, or it's been so many months or years that you feel more than a bit rusty, it can feel really overwhelming and intimidating to get going. What are the best exercises for beginners? What workouts should beginners do?
Oftentimes, when we are starting something new, be it exercise or any other type of hobby, home repair project, or otherwise, we turn to our friends for tips and advice. While this can definitely be a great way to learn the ropes, our loved ones sometimes have no idea how much of a novice we really are, and ultimately end up suggesting things that are really beyond our means.
The good news is that there are plenty of well-designed beginner workouts that safely introduce or reintroduce your body to exercising. The best workouts for beginners also help you learn the basic foundation movement patterns and exercises that you will eventually build upon with more advanced progressions and modifications as you get fitter and stronger.
Even when you are just starting out, it's important that your fitness routine includes beginner workouts that address one or more of the five major areas of health-related fitness: Cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Below, we share a few examples of the best workouts for beginners to help you improve your aerobic endurance, build muscle, and lose fat.

Best Cardio Workouts for Beginners

Read more
The 8 best lower ab exercises for V-cut abs
These lower ab workouts will have you looking (and feeling) great
best lower ab exercises

Still to this day, many consider the "body of work" by Brad Pitt in Fight Club to be the quintessential epitome of the perfect male form. Shredded beyond fathom, most saw, and still see, his perfect swimmer's V-cut abs as most desirable. Even if you spend a decent amount of time working out, strengthening your core, and eating a healthy diet, a lot of guys struggle to get definition in their lower abs and need to focus on some specific lower ab exercises.

The benefits of lower ab exercises go well beyond aesthetics and have the potential to give you the muscle tone and definition you're looking for (and, let's face it, a lot of this comes down to what you're eating and your overall body fat percentage). More importantly, lower ab exercises help build a strong core, which is critical for overall athletic performance, balance, posture, injury prevention, and functional strength. Below, we share some of the best lower ab exercises for men to help you get a strong, sculpted core.

Read more