Advances in wearable technology has made it possible to see what is going on within our bodies. We can use the information that is given from certain monitors to help us cope with stress. In doing so, we can reduce stress levels by learning to tap into our relaxation system.

We can learn how well the brain and gut are communicating by identifying how strong the activity of the vagus nerve is. We can do so by looking at heart rate variability (HRV), which is the rhythm of the heartbeat. When there is a high HRV, it indicates that the communication between your gut and brain is strong. It also can show that your parasympathetic nervous system and sympathetic nervous system are balanced and that your body adapts well to stress.

• HRV Trackers can help us see when the HRV is low so that we can make positive changes to improve it. It can help us see when we may not be managing our stress well so we can learn to incorporate more mindfulness and relaxation techniques. Many smart watches have this capability. More SmartRings such as Motiv and Oura are coming out to track HRV as well as activity and sleep. Some other monitors can be placed on the ear to track heart rate and HRV such as HeartMath, MyCalmBeat and Unyte iom2, Biostrap, and FirstBeat.

• Breathing Trackers can track your breathing movements to help you to identify when you may be stressed and can guide you to a more relaxed state. Prana, Resperate and Spire are just a few of these monitors that can be clipped on to your waist.

We can also make use of applications to lower these stress levels or to track the activities and foods we eat to make sure we are providing our bodies with what they need.