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9 Gifts for That Friend Who Won't Stop Texting Their Wordle Score

Blue light-blocking frames, brain games that don't suck, useful smart tech, and more.

In an age in which we stare at tiny screens, stay indoors, and are bombarded with information more than ever, one shouldn’t be surprised that gifts that help keep your head on straight are top of mind. There are a number of ways you might approach cognitive health and, mercifully, some—like the humble journal—can be had for $20 or less. To the same end, you might also consider harnessing the power of electromagnets through a PMF mat, which research has suggested might aid in everything from faster healing to improved circulation.

Without further ado, here are some of the best gifts to give anyone (including yourself), but especially those who want to stay sharp between the ears in 2023.

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Gifts for Building a Better Brain

Moleskine Classic Notebook

As it relates to sharpening a mind, there are few activities so simple, proven, and functional as writing down your thoughts. You don't have to be a writer or long-winded; you just have to be consistent. Scribbling the days happenings, your to-do lists, or priorities should suffice. In doing so you enter a sort of written record of yourself, which serves as a memory bank. Perhaps that thing you were sweating last month turned out to be nothing worth sweating over, or maybe you notice a habit in your day-to-day routine that you regularly bemoan. Journaling doesn't have to be revelatory, but it often is.

Classic Notebook

Moleskine

$21

SHOP

at Amazon

Apollo Neuro Wearable

There is a lot of very science-y language that orbits Apollo's wrist strap (you can also snap it onto your shirt, or wear it on your ankle), but the gist is simpler: it's designed to make you feel better. Through what the company calls touch therapy the low-profile device sends literal good good vibrations through the body, with outcomes any person would take in a heartbeat: honed focus, better sleep, improved heart rate variability, and more.

Apollo Wearable

Apollo

$399

SHOP

at Apollo

Thing Again by Adam Grant

Think Again's thesis is simple—you need to learn how to unlearn—but things are never so simple, as anyone who has ever sat at a dinner table with politically different relatives knows. Author and psychologist Adam Grant argues that most people argue more like preachers or lawyers than they should. Instead, a person should be willing if not eager to be proven wrong, as that's the way to continue growth well beyond years of adolescence.

Viking publishing

$15

SHOP

at Amazon

Akila Atelier Blue Light Glasses

A lot has been said (and said wrongly, it turns out) about blue light. Most recent research suggests subjecting the human eye to a high amount of blue light doesn't eat away at your vision, but it does pose other threats. The easiest to notice is the eye strain or headache an office worker might have near the end of a work day—staring at a computer for hours on end will do that—but it affects sleep, too. The short version: blue light alerts the body that the sun is gleaming down on it, and that it should be awake. Thus, a person staring at their phone at half past midnight is literally slowing melatonin release to their body, keeping themselves up longer.

Akila's Atelier glasses combine blue light blocking with a nice, classic aesthetic. They feel well-made but don't cost a ton, and they come in a few different colors.

Atelier

Akila

$110

SHOP

at Akila Eyewear

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Sequence Board Game

What if I told you there was a board game that combined elements from poker, rummy, and canasta, but it's easier to learn than any of them and gets the brain working in a healthy way? You might ask what canasta is first, but I assume you'd be excited by the prospect. Sequence is a board game from the early 1970s that has a decidedly old school feel to it. There's some decks of cards, some plastic poker chips, and a square board with a bunch of miniature cards printed on it. All you have to do to win is get five chips in a row—a Sequence of chips. As you might expect, it's not as easy as it sounds. Turn to Sequence instead of Monopoly for a brain game that doesn't feel like one.

Sequence Board Game

$25

SHOP

at Amazon

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk

It would be a lie to say Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score is an easy read, but that doesn't make it any less worth reading. The book dives deep into trauma and its effect on the body and brain and puts forth methods of healing. It's not just a book for those who have experienced trauma of some kind or those that care for traumatized loved ones—it's a book for anyone remotely in the remarkable ways in which the mind and body can heal themselves over time.

Penguin Publishing Group

$11

SHOP

at Amazon

Muse 2

You could try to get into meditation yourself, hire a coach, join a class, or just cheat a little and buy the Muse 2. The device reads your mind (in a sense) and the accompanying app guides you through a set of different meditations for different needs. In the end, you may look like you belong in the Star Trek universe, but you'll have a much firmer grasp on the ways in which you can calm your head, heart, and body. Not a bad tradeoff.

Muse 2

Muse

$250

SHOP

at Muse

Wordle The Party Game

Love it or hate it (how dare you?), Wordle captured the hearts and minds of Americans and it did so without politics or superhero movie remakes. A group-oriented version of the free phone game is now available in tabletop game form. Expect the same snotty oh you don't know the word GAITS? comments as you experienced in the game's heyday.

Wordle

New York Times

$20

SHOP

at Amazon

OMI Full Body Mat

For starters, "Pulsed Magnetic Field" is what PMF stands for. Now that that's out of the way, here's what PMF mat users will tell you they can do: enhance metabolism, increase circulation, increase oxygen flow throughout the body, improve sleep, reduce inflammation, and more.

Research on the subject suggests using PMF equipment can provide most of these benefits, though your mileage may vary depending on the regularity of use and what you want out of the machine.

This one, from OMI, is just north of $1,000. You may balk at that, but understand that most full-body PMF equipment is nearly twice that price.

Fully Body PMF Mat

OMI

$1090

SHOP

at Amazon

9 Gifts for That Friend Who Won't Stop Texting Their Wordle Score

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