As the year winds down, a Newsweek holiday guide turns its attention to a quiet but widespread concern: people looking after their bodies and minds in a year that has reshaped how they exercise and work. Its catalogue of smartwatches, sports masks, weighted blankets, meditation subscriptions and fitness trackers reads as one small answer to a larger human question of how to care for oneself when routines have been disrupted. Offered ahead of the New Year, when many people reach for fresh resolutions, the guide frames gift-giving as a way of tending to both physical and mental well-being. It is
Newsweek's 2020 Holiday Guide to Health and Wellness Gifts, From Sports Masks to Weighted Blankets
A scale isn't usually an approved gift, but the guide asks you to hear it out
Mark
What is this guide actually trying to do?
Mimi
It's a gift list built around health, from watches and masks to sleep and meditation. It says mental well-being matters as much as fitness this year.
Mark
Why is a mask on the list?
Mimi
Because 2020 shaped what people need. The UA Sportsmask, at $30, is pitched for working out responsibly, with airflow and a structure that keeps cloth off the lips.
Luke
Careful, though. Claims like cooler feel and good airflow are the writers' impressions or the product's design claims, not tested results in this piece.
Mark
What about the weighted blanket claims?
Mimi
The guide says they can reduce anxiety and help sleep, and gives a 10 percent of body weight rule of thumb.
Luke
That's stated, not backed with a study here. The writer says it works, but that's an opinion.
Mark
Any personal evidence in the guide?
Mimi
One. The writer says tracking workouts on the Apple Watch helped them lose 20 pounds this year.
Luke
One person's experience, and it can't tell us what the watch would do for anyone else. Also, the page discloses affiliate commissions, so read the picks as editorial recommendations with a financial link.
O Pulso
- A year of disrupted routines has pushed shoppers to find new ways to stay fit, and the guide arrives as they hunt for gifts that will keep loved ones moving.
- Recommendations range from a $399 Garmin Instinct Solar and an Apple Watch 6 to a $30 sports mask, signalling choices across budgets and needs.
- Mental health sits alongside the physical, with meditation subscriptions and weighted blankets offered as tools against anxiety and restless sleep.
- Affiliate links and editorial picks sit side by side, as the list lands ahead of New Year's resolutions, poised to shape holiday purchases within weeks.
As the year winds down, a Newsweek holiday guide turns its attention to a quiet but widespread concern: people looking after their bodies and minds in a year that has reshaped how they exercise and work. Its catalogue of smartwatches, sports masks, weighted blankets, meditation subscriptions and fitness trackers reads as one small answer to a larger human question of how to care for oneself when routines have been disrupted. Offered ahead of the New Year, when many people reach for fresh resolutions, the guide frames gift-giving as a way of tending to both physical and mental well-being. It is a commercial recommendation at heart, yet it also reflects a moment in which the wish to feel well has become a shared, if modest, preoccupation.
Newsweek's 2020 holiday guide begins from a simple observation: as the year closes, many people on a gift list are working on their health, whether they are still managing the gym or finding new ways to exercise. It also gives room to mental health, which the writers see as needed just as much this year. The guide hopes these gifts will help shoppers get a head start on New Year's resolutions.
At the top of the list is the Garmin Instinct Solar, a rugged outdoor smartwatch with GPS and solar charging, priced at $399.99. Its battery can last up to 50 days in good sunlight, and it tracks heart rate, blood oxygen and stress. Runners are pointed toward the Forerunner 245 Music and the Forerunner 745. A $30 UA Sportsmask, built for all-day wear and sun protection, reflects the moment's need for face coverings that feel comfortable.
The guide also defends a Fitbit smart scale, despite the usual reluctance to give one. For calm, it recommends a Headspace subscription, with short meditations for busy days. The Apple Watch 6 is offered to iPhone owners, with heart and fall-detection features that may suit older users or people who live alone. Weighted blankets, starting at $34.97, are described as helpful for anxiety and sleep, with advice on choosing the right weight and size.
Two lighter picks finish the list: a lower-sugar FitVine wine and the Vivofit Jr 3 for children, with its games, chores and emergency widget. Newsweek notes that it may earn commissions through affiliate links on the products it chose.
Newsweek's 2020 holiday guide to health and wellness gifts opens with a plain premise: as the year winds down, plenty of people on a gift list are looking after their health, whether by braving the gym or adapting to new ways of working out. The guide also includes mental health gifts, which it says are needed just as much this year. Its stated aim is to help shoppers jump-start New Year's resolutions and support both mental and physical well-being.
The first pick is the Garmin Instinct Solar, a rugged outdoor smartwatch with GPS and solar charging, priced at $399.99. The writers describe it as light enough to forget on the wrist, and say they have used it on fall walks. With enough sunlight, the battery lasts up to 50 days. It tracks heart rate, blood oxygen through a pulse oximeter and stress, shows smartphone notifications, and works with inReach SOS. For runners, the guide points to the Forerunner 245 Music, which holds 500 songs synced from Amazon Music or Spotify, and the Forerunner 745, aimed at those pushing to the next level with pacing strategies.
The second pick reflects the year: the UA Sportsmask, at $30. It is built for athletes and all-day wear, with Iso-Chill fabric meant to feel cooler than most masks. A built-in structure keeps the cloth off the lips and much of the face. The outer shell is water-resistant, the mask carries SPF 50+ sun protection, and it is washable, with an anti-microbial coating inside. The reviewers say they like its fit, feel and style.
The guide acknowledges that a scale is not usually an approved gift, then defends the Fitbit Aria Air Smart Scale at $49.95. It tracks weight, syncs with the Fitbit app to show body mass index, connects by Bluetooth, and supports multiple users with individual stats. It does not require a Fitbit device, only a smartphone. For mindfulness, the guide recommends a Headspace subscription, with guided meditations and mindfulness exercises. Gifts cost $12.95 for one month or $69.99 for a year, and family and student plans exist. The writers cite short meditations that fit busy days, plus sleep sounds and bedtime exercises.
The Apple Watch 6, from $399, is pitched at iPhone owners. It measures blood oxygen, heart rate and EKG with atrial fibrillation detection, tracks workouts including dancing, and offers fall detection that the guide suggests for older users or people living alone. The LTE model lets someone leave the phone at home and still stay connected and play music. The writer says tracking workouts with the watch helped them lose 20 pounds this year.
Sleep gets its own entry: weighted blankets, starting at $34.97. The guide says they can reduce anxiety and improve sleep, and advises choosing one around 10 percent of body weight that does not hang over the bed's edge. For couples sharing a bed, it suggests a size fitting just the recipient's side. For hot sleepers it names the Tranquility Temperature Balancing Weighted Blanket at $34.97, and it mentions friends' preference for the Baloo Weighted Blanket Throw Size at $149.
Two lighter entries round out the list. FitVine wine, from $15.99, is described as lower in sugar, free of flavor additives, gluten-free, and keto, paleo and vegan friendly, sold by the bottle, by the case of 12, or as a design-your-own case. For children, the Vivofit Jr 3 smartwatch costs $79.99, with downloadable Disney princess and Marvel superhero watch faces, a color display, an "In Case of Emergency" widget, step, sleep and activity tracking, parent-assigned chores with rewards, games, swim-friendliness and a battery lasting up to a year.
Newsweek discloses that it may earn commissions from links on the page through affiliate programs on products it chose editorially. With resolutions weeks away, the list is built for shoppers planning ahead.
Citações Notáveis
Tracking workouts on the Apple Watch helped the writer lose 20 pounds this year.— Newsweek guide writer
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